Path to Padawanship
by Arosa Bold Knight
Summary: We all go on journeys. They teach us to grow and they allow us to learn. Life is a journey. This is the story of Ahsoka Tano's journey, from ten year old Jedi Initiate to Padawanship.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Here's my new story! This is the story of Ahsoka's journey from being a ten year old Jedi Initiate and rising to the status of Padawan. Enjoy!**

**I don't own Star Wars The Clone Wars...**

**Path to Padawanship, Chapter One.**

* * *

The rain gently pattered against the window. Ten year old Ahsoka Tano rolled over on her mattress to watch as the droplets lashed the duraglass. Sighing, she twisted back over towards the wall. Then back to the window. And back to the wall.

"'Soka, what's the matter?" Natalie, a Pantoran youngling who was from the same clan as Ahsoka, the Clawmouse clan, asked softly.

"Nothing, Natalie. I just can't sleep," Ahsoka replied equally softly. She didn't want to wake the other youngling in the room, a Human named Hayley. The three of them were in the Clawmouse clan, as well as three other boys: a Rodian called Matt and two Humans, Chufa and Arici.

"Nervous about tomorrow? You'll feel better if you sleep,"

"Of course I'm not nervous! It's only Grand Master Yoda coming to watch our team exercise tomorrow," Ahsoka replied, her voice shaking slightly as she mentioned the Jedi Master. Natalie rolled her golden brown eyes. "Whatever. You're the best fighter and one of the greatest strategists in our clan. You're the one who should be the least worried!" The Pantoran smiled at the Torgruta, before rolling over and closing her eyes.

Ahsoka blushed slightly, unnoticeable in the dark. Natalie was right, but Ahsoka didn't want to be over confident. It was important for her to make a good impression on the Grand Master. She was determined to become a Padawan as quickly as possible.

Sighing again, she closed her eyes and tried to focus on the soothing sound the rain made as it hit the Temple walls. It worked, because in minutes the little Torgruta was fast asleep.

* * *

"We are going to be late! Come on, Hayley, you're not getting judged on your hair today!" Ahsoka said as Hayley tied her golden hair into a tight bun.

"Just trying to make a good impression, Ahsoka. Remember, we aren't due for another half hour. Relax," Hayley smiled at Ahsoka. Hayley was a year older than Natalie and Ahsoka, and acted it. Ahsoka admired the older girl, especially how she was always so calm under pressure.

"Come on; let's go grab something to eat. Otherwise, we will probably collapse halfway through the challenge." Natalie said as she adjusted her tunic. Ahsoka checked her lightsaber was set at a low training power and clipped securely onto her belt. She then followed her friends out of their room into the hall.

The three girls met up with the rest of their clan on the way to the mess. Matt was busy babbling with excitement about what lightsaber Form he would use, despite having limited training in only two Forms. Chufa and Arici were discussing what sort of challenge they would get. Of course, the exercise was a surprise, but that didn't stop the boys from speculating.

"So, Ahsoka, if we had to rescue prisoners, it would be best to spilt up, right? One team would create a distraction, and the other would do the rescue?" Chufa asked, blue eyes shining with anticipation.

"Uh... I guess. But it could be safer to do a stealth operation. Depends on the situation I suppose," Ahsoka replied as they got their food and sat down.

"Ok, but what if there wasn't time to go stealth? Then we would do the distraction tactic right?" Chufa persisted.

"Chufa, we don't even know what's in the test. But we do know that we can handle whatever is in the exercise. We have each other and the Force. Not to mention that we have had great training. The Masters wouldn't let us do this if we couldn't handle it," Hayley said gently. Arici looked up as Hayley spoke.

"Exactly, Haze is right. We can do this!" he said smiling at Hayley. Ahsoka grinned to herself. She wasn't the only one who looked up to Hayley in their Clan.

* * *

Once the younglings had finished their meal, they made their way to the training room. Ahsoka held her breath as the door opened.

"Welcome, Younglings. Ready for the training test?" Master Aayla Secura asked as the Clawmouse Clan entered the room.

"Yes, Master." Natalie said. Ahsoka hoped her friend was right.

* * *

**Chapter two will be up soon! Thank you for reading. Also, does "Of course I'm not nervous" sound familar? Its from Season One: Storm Over Ryloth :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Path to Padawanship: Chapter 2! Enjoy... :)**

**I don't own Star Wars.**

* * *

"Destroy the shield generator? It sounds easy enough," Ahsoka said as she looked at the Holopad in her hand. "Or not. It's on a cliff, with a vertical height of around 20 meters. The map shows that the base is nothing but muddy quicksand. Any ideas on how to get up there?"

The team of younglings were gathered around her, also examining the mission details. They were in the biggest training hall Ahsoka had ever seen. Masters Yoda and Secura were on a platform above them, watching the group. In front of the team, there was a cliff with the shield generator on the top. However, to get there they needed to pass through a 'jungle'. Ahsoka was sure there would be all sorts of traps in there.

"The jungle might be harder to navigate through than scaling the cliff," Natalie said thoughtfully. "Who knows what will be in there?"

Ahsoka was glad that she wasn't the only one thinking along those lines. It showed that they must be on the right track. "We would need to watch the ground, the trees around us and the tops of the trees if we walked through. However, the trees are close together. Perhaps we could jump from branch to branch?"

Chufa nodded his agreement. "We would avoid anything like tripwires and holes in the ground that way. Good idea."

"Should we move then? We are getting timed on this exercise." Matt said, already moving off towards the forest.

"Wait! Time doesn't matter as much as doing this properly. As we become more experienced, we can move faster. But right now, we need to evaluate this idea. There could be traps in the trees as well," Hayley said to the green skinned Rodian. Matt looked ready to argue back, but saw the sense in what Hayley was suggesting.

"The only problem I can see is that some of the branches may be rotten and collapse under our weight. Perhaps we should stick together, but not on the same branches. We can use the Force to see which trees are safe and which are not," Arici said, looking at the jungle. "Other than that, we should be alright."

Ahsoka tucked the Holopad into her backpack. Then, the younglings moved off to the trees.

* * *

"This is harder than I thought," Natalie said as she swung from tree to tree. She pushed through some of the smaller branches, before leaping to the next tree. "How long is this forest?"

"Patience, Natz," Ahsoka said as she swung around a branch, flipping neatly to the next tree. Once she landed on the branch, Ahsoka pulled her backpack off. Hayley told everyone to take a break as Ahsoka checked the map.

"Only 0.2 klicks to go. Is everyone alright? Are the trees pretty stable?" she asked as she pulled her backpack back on. Everyone nodded.

"Hey, look down there!" Matt said suddenly, pointing down at a fine wire, which was just visible against the brown of the forest floor. "If we had walked, we would have tripped on it. The wire is the same height as our ankles. We probably wouldn't have even seen it!"

"Good thing we planned ahead." Hayley smiled.

The group continued steadily to the edge of the 'jungle'. There, the younglings stopped. From the tree tops, they could see that there was about 15 meters of thick mud between them and the base of the cliff.

Arici broke a branch off the tree he was in, before jumping down to the bottom of the tree. He stuck the stick into the mud, and frowned as the branch was completely covered in mud.

"That branch was the same height as me, and it didn't even touch the bottom! And this is probably the shallowest part because it's just beside the shore! How are we going to cross this?" He asked as he used the Force to leap back up into the tree.

The younglings all frowned. "It's way too thick to safely swim through. Perhaps we missed something? There might have been a raft in the forest…" Chufa said.

"We could make one with the rotten branches. If we tied them together, they should carry us," Natalie replied. Ahsoka looked around. There, just in front of them, was a tree which had become stuck in the mud. It was beginning to die, the bark coming off it in a thick 'shell'.

"We won't be able to paddle, though. The mud is too thick," Hayley stated logically. "We could make a path with branches somehow…" She trailed off uncertainly.

"Good idea, Haze! But, we don't need to use branches. We can use the bark coming off that tree! The larger surface area will decrease the pressure we exert on the mud. Besides, the thickness of the mud will work in our favour. It will provide support. This way, we won't sink!" Ahsoka said excitedly.

"Someone ate physics holopads for breakfast!" Matt grinned. Natalie was more down to ground level, though. "We can use the Force to break the bark into strips and lie them on the mud!" The Pantoran smiled as she understood what her friend's plan was.

"Let's do it!" Chufa whooped with excitement.

* * *

Yoda smiled as he watched the group of younglings discuss their mission. Using the Force, he and Aayla could both hear what they were planning. Yoda and Aayla exchanged grins as Ahsoka decided that they should climb through the trees.

"Wise, Initiate Tano is," Yoda said.

"Yes. I think this will be an interesting test to watch. Also, Initiate Hayley's response to Matt was good. Matt needs to learn how to look at the bigger picture." Aayla replied.

The two Masters watched quietly as the group made their way through the forest. When they reached the mud, Yoda spoke again.

"Interesting this will be," he paused as they discussed building rafts. When Ahsoka decided to make a path across the mud, Yoda gave another rare smile. "Good application of other class work this is."

_Watching this one in future, I will be. _

* * *

**Chapter 3 will be up soon! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:**** Here's Chapter three! This was a bit harder to write than chapters 1&2. Nothing listening to music can't fix, though! **** Remember, reviews are always appreciated! Enjoy…**

**I don't own Star Wars the Clone Wars.**

* * *

"Go for it, Soka! This was your idea!" Natalie cheered her friend on. Ahsoka frowned and looked at the mud. Across it were the planks of bark they had taken off the dying tree. The planks covered about 12 metres of bog. The younglings had to run and leap over the mud using the bark, and then Force jump the last 3 metres onto the cliff.

Ahsoka was tempted to point out that Hayley had actually came up with the idea of making a path, and Ahsoka had just refined it a little. However, that would be a pointless waste of time. _Besides_, she told herself, _someone had to go first_. "Here goes nothing, then."

Holding her breath, Ahsoka ran and leapt onto the first piece of bark. She sprinted across it, springing off the end onto the next piece. From there, she somersaulted across the last 3 meters of mud, before landing on a small ledge on the cliff.

"It works!" Matt yelled triumphantly, as if it had been his idea.

"Of course it works! When have I ever been wrong?" Ahsoka retorted, smirking as she began to scale the cliff.

"Do you really want me to answer that?" Hayley asked as she elegantly flew across the mud, landing on the same ledge Ahsoka had.

"Maybe not." Ahsoka replied, grinning, as the rest of the group crossed the mud pit and began to climb up the cliff. There were plenty of handholds in the synthetic rock, and the group scrambled up to the top quickly.

The environment at the summit was completely different from the terrain at the bottom of the cliff. There were a couple of jagged rocks scattered around, spiking up out of the ground. Ahsoka scanned the area, looking for the generator. Unfortunately, the shield generator was probably behind some of the rocks, and the grey colour of would blend in really well with the landscape. For the sake of the exercise, the generator wasn't actually on. This was so that it was harder to find.

"Incoming! On your right!" Arici cried suddenly. Ahsoka spun around to face the new threat. "What…where?"

"There are battle droids hidden behind the rocks!" He replied as he activated his blue bladed lightsaber. Natalie, Chufa and Matt turned around, also igniting their lightsabers. The four younglings began deflecting blaster bolts, while Hayley calmly stood behind them, using some binoculars to look for their target.

"Haze, this isn't-"Ahsoka began.

"I can see the generator!" Hayley shouted, interrupting Ahsoka's protest. "It's on our left. Natz, Chufa, Arici and Matt cover us, please. Ahsoka and I will go and deactivate it."

"You got it, Haze!" Arici said, grinning as he took a droid down.

Ahsoka and Hayley turned their lightsabers on, and held them behind their backs. This protected them from the blaster fire. The two girls sprinted over the rocks, dodging any bolts the rest of the Clan couldn't deflect. Once they reached the generator, Hayley turned back to face the droids, allowing Ahsoka to end the program.

Only one droid remained, thanks to the efforts of Natalie, Matt, Chufa and Arici. As Ahsoka typed 'end exercise' into the generator and hit 'enter', the droid dropped it's blaster and slumped over, deactivated.

Matt let out a loud whoop as the droid fell over. Natalie and Chufa high-fived while Ahsoka and Hayley ran back over to join them.

"Impressive work, Clawmouse Clan," Aayla Secura said as she climbed down from the observation platform.

"Yes, a good job well done it was," Yoda stated. The younglings all grinned at each other, as the Grand Master continued. "Dismissed you are. Have the remainder of the day off you can."

* * *

The boys decided that they wanted to go and grab something to eat, while Natalie and Hayley both said they needed a shower. Natalie had got one foot stuck in the mud while crossing the bog pit. She therefore had to hop across the Temple to the girl's bathroom, and also stunk a bit. Hayley was covered in sweat.

Ahsoka was quite sweaty as well, but didn't feel like having a shower. And she was never that hungry right after doing exercise. She decided to visit the Room of a Thousand Fountains instead. It was the perfect place to unwind. The soft spray from the waterfalls would cool her down, as well.

As she walked through the Temple, Ahsoka waved at some of her other friends who were clearly wishing they were the ones who got a day off.

Once she arrived at the room, Ahsoka walked over to her favourite place. It was at the top of one of the waterfalls, beside a clear pool of calm, aqua coloured water. The pool was surrounded by tall trees and large, smooth, round rocks. The rocks were completely unlike the ones in the team exercise, and were quite comfortable to sit on.

Ahsoka sat down and tried to practice a meditation exercise she had created a few months ago. It involved using the Force to lift a small stone out of the water. She would then attempt to push the stone across the surface of the water, but not let it sink or create ripples. Ahsoka had nearly completed a full circle of the pool with the stone, when a voice interrupted her.

"Interesting focus exercise, Initiate Tano," Master Yoda said from across the pool.

"Greetings, Master Yoda! Sorry, I didn't hear you," Ahsoka replied. The pebble dropped and sank to the bottom of the pool as Ahsoka stood up and bowed to the Master.

"A good job today you did. Not easy that exercise was. Impressive leadership, creativity and co-operation qualities you have, young Ahsoka." Yoda praised as he continued through the garden.

"Thank you, Master." Ahsoka replied, blushing with the compliment. As Yoda ambled towards another pool, Ahsoka was sure she heard him say 'yes, hmmm, impressive they were.'

Ahsoka grinned as the ancient Master walked away, using his old cane for support. After this, she would have a shower and do some solid lightsaber practice.

After that praise, she more determined than ever to become a Padawan.

* * *

**Thank you for reading! :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Chapter four! I've been sick, so thats why this hasn't been updated recently. Thank you to those reviewers! Also, It has been brought to my attention (You know who you are!) that Ahsoka was part of the Clawmouse Clan, not the Wampa Clan. This has been updated in my previous chapters. Sorry for any inconvenience. **

**I obviously don't own Star Wars!**

* * *

_Block. Punch. Sidestep and front kick. Roundhouse kick to where the ribs would be…_

Ahsoka's forehead creased in concentration as she went through the movements of her kata. This was Sedio kata, number 2. It was done barehanded; the only weapon she had was her own body. Ahsoka had heard rumours of Jedi Masters who had lost their lightsabers and been forced to fight without the weapons. She knew that if she was to become a Padawan, she would need good fighting skills with and without a lightsaber.

Sweat trickled down her face, and she could feel her heart pumping as she fluidly changed stances. Ahsoka paused to take a deep breath before unleashing several jumping kicks. The Masters who took her Clan's martial arts class often told her to think of a spring being wound up and released. Ahsoka held the image in her mind as she back flipped into another smooth kick.

The last part of the Kata was slower, gentler, but not any less lethal. The image in her mind changed from a wound up spring to a picture of leaves falling off a tree in the Room of a Thousand fountains.

Quieting her energy, Ahsoka slid back into the 'ready' position and finished her kata. She was sure her martial art skills were improving. They certainly should be. She had been practising early each morning for weeks now.

As she completed her practice, Ahsoka looked around the training room. There were several Masters sparring together, lightsabers flashing and blocking so fast Ahsoka could barely see the blades properly. She paused briefly, watching them.

"Hey, Soka! Thought you could escape us?" Hayley asked, smiling asked as she and Natalie walked into the training room. Ahsoka turned around to see her friends coming towards her. And they were grinning. A bit too much.

"What? I've been doing this for ages now. Ever since the mud training exercise and that was about three months ago. Have you only just noticed that I've stopped sleeping in?"

"Haven't you forgotten something?" Natalie asked, continuing to smile.

"Oh, yes, you're eleven. And I'm ten. And Hayley is twelve. And I'm still ten. Did you really come halfway across the Temple to rub that in?" Ahsoka replied, rolling her eyes. Hayley had turned twelve two months ago, whereas Natalie had her eleventh Life Day three weeks ago. Both girls enjoyed gently teasing Ahsoka about it. Until Ahsoka showed them both up at lightsaber practice, of course.

"Think about that second to last statement," Hayley grinned.

"And I'm still ten… No, wait! I'm eleven! It's my Life Day!" Ahsoka beamed. "I'm one year closer to becoming a Padawan!"

"Is that all you ever think about?" Natalie asked the excited Torgruta. Ahsoka just gave her a look which clearly said '_as if it's not the same for you.' _Natalie simply rolled her golden brown eyes at her friend. "Come on, you big, eleven year old Initiate. Lightsaber practice with Master Adi Gallia is on in ten,"

"But I haven't even eaten anything yet!" Ahsoka groaned. She was probably going to pass out halfway through the gruelling two hour session. Master Gallia loved to work her students. Hard.

"Good thing we grabbed you something, wasn't it? Happy Life Day, Ahsoka." Hayley said as they walked out of the training room. She passed Ahsoka a carton of blue milk and two Muja fruit-filled donuts. Ahsoka smiled her thanks, and the three girls headed off to the first class of the day.

* * *

"Matt, could you please show us the basic stance for Form III?" Master Gallia's voice rang out across the training room. The Rodian looked up guiltily. He had been deflected shots from a training remote, but, being so focused on the moment, had let his right foot slip forward.

"Yes, Master," he said respectfully, sliding into the stance. His dominant foot needed to be behind him. Master Gallia icily watched Matt as he fixed his mistake.

"Good. Do it like that from now on," She said, before turning to the rest of the group. "I don't want to see any sloppy stances. Next person who has a messy stance will receive push ups and extra meditation time to be completed after class. Understood, Initiates?"

All the younglings bowed, before turning back to their training remotes. Adi nodded, satisfied before turning back to work with Hayley.

"What's the point of a stance? Shouldn't we worry about what our lightsaber blade is doing?" Chufa asked Arici as Master Gallia turned away. Ahsoka rolled her eyes at him. Talking back, or behind a Master's back was a good way to receive those extra push ups.

"I heard that, Initiate Chufa. I could tell you the point of a good stance. But it would be better for you to find out for yourself. You will learn more that way," The Tholothian Jedi Master said, as she walked to the front of the room. The younglings watched, curious as their tutor took out a bucket containing strips of material. "You will fight with your eyes covered. Without being distracted by what you see, you can feel what happens. You will sense the training bolts in the Force. And you will sense how everything can connect together- or not depending on how your stance is."

Ahsoka frowned as Natalie tied her blindfold over her eyes for her. This felt weird. It seemed even more different when Master Gallia placed a small 'hood' of the same material over her montrals.

"Sorry, Initiate Ahsoka. But your echolocation will give you an unfair advantage of sensing where the remote is. You will still be able to hear what is happening, but not echolocate anything with this hood. Initiates, you may begin." Master Gallia instructed.

Ahsoka brought her lightsaber up in her reverse Shein opening stance. She felt calm, ready. The stance was perfect. Perhaps this was what Master Gallia meant. Maybe skill and confidence were built from the ground up.

Suddenly, Ahsoka stiffened as she heard the remote charge up. Where was it? Blindly, she reached out for the Force. But, her panic was growing. Any second, the remote would fire. The panic was clouding her connection to the Force. Ahsoka moved forward, stumbling over her own feet. She felt so disorientated. Ahsoka wasn't used to hearing without sensing using echolocation. That stupid hood was really annoying her. The sound kept getting thrown around inside her montrals, and she had no sense of direction.

The remote was in front of her, right? Ahsoka stumbled forward again, and got rewarded with a stinging sensation in her back. Maybe, just maybe it was behind her then? Ahsoka turned, and got shot in the back again. The turn had been clumsy, and she was so unbalanced that the shot knocked her over.

"Stop the exercise, Clawmouse clan," Adi Gallia commanded as everyone took their blind folds off. Ahsoka, still on the ground, looked around. Hayley was, as always, in the perfect Form III stance. Natalie, who had been training in Form II was balanced, looking calm and confidant. Arici and Chufa, who had both been fighting in Shein, were practically bouncing on their feet with enthusiasm. Even Matt was in a good stance.

"What happened there, Initiate Ahsoka?" Master Gallia asked, as she walked over to her. Everyone looked down, realising that Ahsoka was on the floor.

"Uh... I got disorientated and lost my balance," Ahsoka said softly.

"What stance were you in?"

"Um… uh… It was-"

"You weren't in any stance. That's why you lost your balance and fell. Push ups, please," Adi Gallia interrupted. Ahsoka clipped her lightsaber onto her belt and started to do her press ups. The rest of her clan watched on, slightly confused about how the best fighter in their class could unintentionally fall over.

"Good, stop," Master Gallia said, after a couple of minutes. Ahsoka stood up, and bit her lip. Her stance had been fine at the start. What had she done to make it go wrong?

"Why did you get given press ups?" Master Gallia asked.

"My stance was… bad… I guess," Ahsoka said, confused and disappointed.

"Mmm. You can work on it tomorrow. Class dismissed." The Tholothian Master said. Ahsoka sighed as the Clan walked out of the training room. This was going to be a bad day.

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**Thanks for reading :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N Thanks to those reviewers! May I now present the longest chapter I have ever written. I just couldn't stop! Enjoy!**

**I don't own Star Wars.**

* * *

The rest of the day passed in a rather dull blur for the little Torgruta Initiate. All Ahsoka could think about was the mistake in lightsaber class. When she got her Physics test back in science with the highest grade in her clan, she didn't even smile. Instead, she grunted miserably. Natalie and Hayley, who were sitting on each side of her, exchanged a look.

"Are you alright, Ahsoka? Come on, you just got the highest mark. What's the matter?" Hayley asked.

"Don't worry, Haze. It's not important," Ahsoka replied as she fiddled with her stylus.

"Of course it's important!" Natalie said "These tests go on our records!"

"I wasn't talking about the test, Natz." Ahsoka replied unhappily.

"I would hope not! I'm so jealous of that mark! My Science record is terrible," Chufa said, smiling as he turned around from his seat in front of the girls. Ahsoka rolled her eyes as Chufa tried to steal her test and replace it with his.

"Chufa, it's against the Jedi Code to be envious. There is no emotion, there is peace, remember?" Arici said smugly to his friend. In reply, Chufa stopped trying to get Ahsoka's test and threw his stylus at Arici. Arici ducked, and the writing instrument flew into Matt.

"Ok, that's it!" Matt said, picking up a spare holopad. He threw it at Arici, but missed and hit Natalie. The Pantoran squealed in surprise, and pulled a face at the Rodian. Matt stuck out his tongue and Natalie used the Force to pull his chair over.

"I'm just a Master at dodging stuff, aren't I?" Arici grinned as he strutted around the classroom to pick up the holopad. "Now, call me Master Arici, the master at dodging things. You can learn much, little younglings," he said, putting on a superior tone.

"Would you like to try and dodge some extra meditation time, _Initiate_ Arici?" Master Secura asked as she walked into the room. "What a racket. My class of younglings next door cannot concentrate on their politics work. Where is the Master taking this lesson? If you can call it that,"

"Sorry, Master Secura," Arici said, bowing respectfully, all traces of a superior master disappearing rapidly. "Master Ella had to collect some files for her next class of Padawans. This lesson is due to finish very soon, so she gave us back our tests and said to wait…uh…quietly,"

Aayla looked around the room. She took in the upturned chair and Matt lying on the ground beside it. She looked at the broken stylus and the test papers all over the floor.

"I see."

* * *

"Way to go, Arici!" Chufa said sarcastically that afternoon. The Clawmouse Clan was doing their extra meditation time. The Master overseeing it, Master Unduli had gone to talk to another Master quickly, and so Clawmouse Clan was unsupervised.

"Hey, are you arguing with a Master? A Master at dodging stuff, no less?" Arici said in the same superior tone he had used before. Ahsoka stopped meditating to watch the two boys argue. A small smile formed on her face as she remembered what happened in Science class.

Hayley looked over at Ahsoka's grin and gave Arici the thumbs up. Unnoticed by Ahsoka, Arici nodded back at Hayley.

After lightsaber practice, Hayley had decided that they needed to do something to cheer Ahsoka up. Natalie had agreed instantly. Arici was more than happy to go along with whatever Hayley did, so agreed as well. Chufa had been the one to suggest a bit of a fake fight. The five younglings were glad that they could make their team mate smile.

* * *

Ahsoka's smile didn't last long, though. Once meditation had finished, she decided to practice her Katas and stances. Ahsoka was still upset about what had happened that morning.

The training room was quiet. Two Jedi Masters were sparring in one corner. There was another who was sitting on a bench and appeared to be meditating. Ahsoka shrugged to herself. Maybe there was pollen or something in the air of the Room of a Thousand Fountains which he was allergic to.

Ahsoka sighed, and began to stretch. She also jogged on the spot and did a couple of flips. Once she felt warmed up, Ahsoka activated her lightsaber and went through all her stances. However, it became apparent that it wasn't helping. Every stance was practically perfect. Her feet where faultlessly placed, and allowed her both balance and ease of movement. Her hand held her lightsaber in a secure grip, and she executed all blocks and strikes effectively.

Ahsoka frowned. You couldn't fall over in a good stance. So, why had she fallen over if all her stances, both arms and legs, had been perfect? She groaned, deactivating her lightsaber. Perhaps she would try some unarmed practice?

Barehanded katas helped the problem about as much as lightsaber katas did. Ahsoka usually loved doing katas. She could feel her energy intertwine with the Force. But right now, they just increased her frustration.

Ahsoka was so focused that she didn't realise the Jedi Master who had been meditating had made his way towards her.

"Having problems, young one? Maybe I could help you?" Ahsoka looked up to see a green skinned Nautolan with a massive grin on his face. "I am Master Kit Fisto. Who are you, young one?"

"My name is Ahsoka Tano. I'm an Initiate. I fell over in lightsaber practice with Master Gallia today. And I just can't figure out why!" Ahsoka said. She groaned as the words came out of her mouth. This would make her look like a pathetic youngling, for sure.

She was surprised when Master Fisto smiled.

"Why does that worry you? Everyone falls. That's how we learn and become better at what we do," he said.

"Yeah, I know, but I thought I was doing everything right, and then I get… scared and fall," Ahsoka said.

"What happened?" Kit Fisto asked gently.

"Well, we had to do this blindfold exercise so that we could see how important our stance is. I'm sure my stance was perfect, because I felt so balanced. Then, I heard the training remote charge up." Ahsoka said, trying to remember what had happened. "I was wearing a special hood so I couldn't echolocate the remote. However, it's so different to just hear something rather than hear and echolocate it. I panicked and came out of my stance. The Force seemed to disappear and I fell over,"

"Why did the Force disappear?" the Master asked curiously.

"Whenever I feel the Force, I am calm. I think my panic clouded my connection to it," Ahsoka said thoughtfully. She had often heard Masters talking about 'fear clouding judgement'.

"Why did you panic, then?"

"I thought I would get hit, and I couldn't hear where it would come from," Ahsoka said. Kit Fisto sat down, and Ahsoka joined him. Kit seemed to think before asking his next question.

"Why did you need to hear the remote to know where it was?"

"Umm… I couldn't do anything else?" Ahsoka frowned. "I don't actually know," She stated lamely.

"Couldn't you have used the Force?" he asked. Ahsoka groaned at the obvious answer. How had she missed that? Kit looked at the little Torgruta. "Ahsoka, whatever you think is real will become a reality. You were scared that you would get hit, right?" Ahsoka nodded. "And did you?" Ahsoka nodded again. "If you had trusted the Force completely, you would have known exactly where the remote was. We don't need to rely on ourselves and our abilities all the time. The Force looks after us. It is more powerful than any Jedi. Trust it. We can fail ourselves and each other, but the Force won't," Kit said. Ahsoka mulled over the new knowledge. Her forehead creased thoughtfully.

"But Master Gallia was trying to teach us about stances. Why was my lesson different from the rest of the Clan's?" She asked. Kit Fisto grinned.

"You already know the stances. It was time for you to take your lesson further. Time for you to trust yourself and the Force," he said still smiling as Ahsoka began to understand. Her expression changed from a frown to a grin as it dawned on her that her lesson had been harder for a reason.

"Wow… Thank you Master Fisto. I never looked at it like that! All I needed to do was trust," Ahsoka said, realising just how wise the Nautolan Jedi Master was.

"There is no emotion. There is peace," Kit Fisto nodded.

"Thank you Master, I'll remember that. Oh… Just wondering, Master, why do you meditate here? It's nicer in the Room of a Thousand Fountains," Ahsoka asked curiously.

"I had a feeling that I would be needed here, Ahsoka. It's my pleasure. May the Force be with you." he said, before standing up. Ahsoka followed suit, bowing to the Master. Kit bowed back, before leaving.

As the Nautolan walked out of the training room, Ahsoka smiled.

Now, she knew what to do.

* * *

**Thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews, guys! Here's Chapter 6...**

**I don't own Star Wars.**

* * *

Natalie blinked blearily as she woke up. Yawning, the Pantoran looked at the chronometer on the wall. They had half an hour until lightsaber combat class. Natalie groaned, and turned over on her bed. She looked over at where Ahsoka slept, and was surprised to see two montrals peeping out from under the blanket. Ahsoka must have heard her moving, because she turned over and grinned at her friend.

"Why are you here, Soka? I thought you'd be out practicing," Natalie asked in confusion.

"I wanted to sleep in today," Ahsoka grinned as she stretched out, kicking her thin blanket off the bed. And that was the truth. Well, partly. Ahsoka figured that total trust in the Force meant not doing early morning practice, but simply having complete faith that she could do the exercise.

"What's happening?" Hayley asked, yawning as she woke up. The human turned over to look at her friends. "Hey, Ahsoka's not practicing this morning! What brought this on, Ahsoka?"

"I felt like sleeping in. Come on Hayley, we have lightsaber class on with Master Gallia in half an hour! By the time you've done your hair, we might just make it if you get up now!" Ahsoka said. Hayley rolled her eyes at the Torgruta as she got up.

"Far out. Do your hair nicely for one practice assessment and get annoyed about it for the rest of your life. You should just be glad you don't have any, Ahsoka," Hayley said as she clipped her lightsaber onto her belt. "By the way, lightsaber class isn't with Master Gallia today. She's on an assignment. Today, we will be doing the blindfold exercise with Master Kenobi,"

"What? How do you know this?" Ahsoka asked. Hayley picked up her holopad and tossed it across the room to Ahsoka.

"I read the notices so I know what's happening," she replied smugly. Ahsoka ignored this, and began to read.

"Master Kenobi…. Master Kenobi. Oh, here it is," The Torgruta said as she scanned down the list. "He will be taking Clawmouse Clan's lightsaber class today as Master Gallia is on an assignment… Hey! Guess what, guys!" Ahsoka cried loudly.

Hayley and Natalie looked at her. "What?"

"Do you know who Master Kenobi's Padawan is? Here's a hint: think Chosen One!"

"Ahsoka, everyone knows that Anakin Skywalker is Master Kenobi's Padawan. What's the big deal?" Hayley asked.

"Oh, only the Chosen One will be helping out with our class today. Look, it says 'Master Kenobi and his Padawan will be taking Clawmouse Clan's lesson'. Isn't that cool? He was the youngest Initiate to graduate to the status of Padawanship!" Ahsoka declared excitedly.

Natalie frowned. "I've heard that he can be quite angry, sometimes. And he doesn't like taking youngling classes," she said thoughtfully. Hayley nodded her agreement. She had also heard from some of the Masters that Anakin was a reckless, proud student.

Ahsoka rolled her eyes at her two friends. "Well, we'll just have to show him that we're far better than other younglings he might have taught, won't we?"

* * *

"Good Morning, Clawmouse Clan. I am Master Obi Wan Kenobi and this is my Padawan Anakin Skywalker. We will be taking your lightsaber class today because I do believe Master Gallia is busy. I hear that you are working on the blindfold training exercise?" Master Kenobi greeted the Clan.

"Yes, Master." The younglings all said, bowing respectfully as they did so. As Ahsoka straightened back up, she looked up at Master Kenobi's Padawan. He stood, lazily leaning against the wall, watching her Clan with an expression of boredom. Ahsoka was sure he had yawned while they were bowing. Ahsoka frowned. She was going to show Anakin Skywalker that she wasn't just another youngling. He might have been the youngest initiate to graduate to Padawanship. But, despite the fact that she wasn't a 'Chosen One' she could do it just as well as he could. She would be the second youngest Initiate to graduate to Padawanship. She would show him.

The younglings walked into the training room. Master Kenobi said to warm up with stretches as he went to sort out the blindfolds. Ahsoka started with the splits, before jogging on the spot and doing a couple of rolls and flips. Master Kenobi was soon back.

"Good job, Clawmouse Clan. I would like you to run a few laps around the room now, please." He instructed. The training room was one of the larger ones, and would definitely give the younglings a bit of a workout.

Clawmouse Clan began to run. However, the exercise was not a popular one.

"Why should we run? I'm not planning on running from the enemy! I'm way too skilled to retreat," Chufa exclaimed, puffing as he rounded a corner.

"Yeah, but you're not really in any shape to chase an enemy are you? Face it Chufa, you're so out of shape that Jabba the Hutt could beat you in a race," Arici stated, grinning at his friend. Ahsoka, who had been running behind them, suddenly accelerated past the two boys.

"Does this mean I'm Jabba?" she quipped. "Eat my dust!" Ahsoka laughed as she took off again.

However, even Ahsoka was glad when they were told to stop. Running around a training room got boring, really quickly.

"I see we have a wide range of endurance in this Clan," Master Kenobi said, rather pointedly looking at Chufa and Arici as the Initiates came back to the centre of the room. "Ok, Clan, I would like you each to put a blindfold on. There's also a special hood here for you, Initiate Ahsoka. Are you alright putting it on?"

"Yes, Master Kenobi." Ahsoka replied, feeling a small thrill of excitement as she fastened her hood and blindfold firmly on. This was her chance to not only prove her faith in the Force to her classmates and her instructor, but also to herself.

Upon the order to stand in the ready position, Ahsoka activated her lightsaber in the reverse Shein grip. Lightly balancing on the balls of her feet, she heard the hum of a training remote as it came over to where she was standing. The sound bounced around in her montrals, like the last time. However, unlike before, Ahsoka ignored the strange sensation. Instead, she concentrated on remaining balanced, while waiting for the order to start.

Nervously, she took a deep breath and remembered Kit Fisto's words.

"_There is no emotion, there is peace….. Trust the Force….We don't need to rely on ourselves and our abilities all the time…"_

Ahsoka exhaled slowly as Obi Wan gave the command to begin. And that was when the Torgruta blocked out everything she could hear. Instead, she concentrated on releasing her emotions and connecting into the Force. She could feel the waves and power of it all around her. Suddenly, in that moment, it felt like she could see. It was as if some sort of fog had been lifted. She could sense the remote behind her, and spun to face it. Her arms came up and Ahsoka blocked the shot expertly.

As the exercise continued, Ahsoka slid through all her well-practiced stances. Never once did she fall, trip or even stumble. Each movement was balanced, controlled and flowed smoothly into the next. But there was a lot of power behind that control. Ahsoka was amazed at what merely having faith in herself and the Force could do.

The Torgruta was so engaged in what she was doing that she actually missed the instruction to stop. Natalie drew breath to fix that problem, but was stopped by Obi Wan.

"Wait, Natalie. Watch Ahsoka, Clawmouse Clan. I haven't seen something like this from an Initiate at this level in a while," the Jedi Master said, stroking his beard thoughtfully. "I wonder if she could go faster."

"Let's find out." Anakin said as he grabbed the control and adjusted the settings on Ahsoka's remote. Natalie and Hayley shared a surprised look. This was the first sign of life the Padawan had shown all lesson.

* * *

Behind the blindfold, Ahsoka felt her remote speed up. The bolts came faster, and the direction the bolts came from changed far more frequently. There also seemed to be more variety of height.

The youngling remained relaxed, however. Whatever she was presented with, Ahsoka felt sure that she and the Force could take it together. So, she kept going.

It was only when Obi Wan deactivated the remote that Ahsoka stopped. She slid back into the 'ready' stance, waiting for the next instruction.

"Very good, Initiate Ahsoka. You can take off your blindfold." Master Kenobi said.

Ahsoka frowned. Why only her? What about everyone else? Had she done something wrong? The youngling sighed, and pulled off the piece of material, bracing herself for the inevitable correction. She was expecting to see everyone else still fighting, and Master Kenobi telling her that she had done something wrong. But, Ahsoka was surprised to see instead that everyone was watching her. Arici, Chufa and Matt were all grinning whereas Natalie was clapping and cheering for her. Ahsoka looked around the group. Obi Wan was looking thoughtful, as usual, and Anakin had managed to drop the 'Bored Padawan' attitude. The Chosen One was actually looking semi awake, more so than he had been at the start of the lesson. All of this came as a great surprise to Ahsoka.

But what really surprised her most was the frown on Hayley's face.

* * *

**Wasn't too sure about Anakin. I think he would have been a Padawan at this time, because he's a Knight in the Clone Wars movie which is set about three years from this part of the story. I'm pretty sure he wasn't a Knight for three years before Ahsoka became his Padawan. (Most sources say Ahsoka's 14 in the movie.)**

**Anyway, thanks for reading! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N Thank you for reviewing! I really appreciate your comments! Here's Chapter 7. Enjoy!**

**I don't own Star Wars.**

* * *

"That was great Ahsoka! You need to teach me how you did it!" Natalie said after the class. The Clan was walking to their next lesson, which was Mathematics with Master Shaak Ti.

"Thanks, Natz. I had a lot of help from Master Fisto yesterday. He was the one who taught me about trusting the Force and how we can be deceived by what we hear. Master Fisto deserves all the credit; it was nice of him to pass on some of his wisdom. But the only thing I don't understand is why everyone stopped fighting before I did," Ahsoka replied, watching Hayley. The Human was walking in front of them with Arici, and was laughing at something he had said. Ahsoka frowned. Hayley usually walked with her and Natalie after a class.

"You didn't hear Master Kenobi tell us to stop! We took off our blindfolds, and there you were, still swinging your lightsaber and deflecting the training bolts!" Natalie exclaimed. Ahsoka's lekku darkened in colour as she blushed with embarrassment.

"Oops. That's humiliating. Good thing it was Master Kenobi taking the lesson! Master Gallia would have probably made me do press-ups for lacking in situational awareness," The Torgruta said.

"Nah, Master Gallia would have been just as impressed as Master Kenobi was, if not more," Natalie smiled. "I think you even impressed Padawan Grumpy with your performance!"

"Speaking of grumpy people, what's the matter with Hayley? Anakin looked cheerier than she did after the lesson. Is she alright?" Ahsoka asked, concerned. "She normally walks with us, as well."

Natalie paused, deep in thought. "I think she might have been jealous. Master Kenobi did make a bit of a show about telling us to watch you. He also said that he hadn't seen someone at this level do something like that in a long time."

It was Ahsoka's turn to pause as she digested the new information. "But Hayley knows that praise isn't everything. Plus, she's better than me at nearly everything else,"

"Don't worry about it too much, Ahsoka. I'm sure that everything will work out," Natalie said reassuringly.

Ahsoka looked at the Pantoran. "I hope so, Natz. I hope so."

* * *

"Hello, Initiates," Master Ti said as the younglings walked into the classroom. Ahsoka smiled. Master Ti was one of her favourite Masters, along with Master Plo Koon. And it wasn't only because Master Ti was a Togruta like her. She was very intelligent and patient. She also knew how to guide someone to the solution of a problem, not just give them the answer. Ahsoka figured that was probably why she taught maths.

"Good morning, Master Ti," Clawmouse Clan chorused, bowing before sitting down at the desks arranged around the room. Shaak Ti walked over to the holoprojector.

"Today, Initiates, we will be learning about graphs. Can anyone tell me how graphs apply to real life situations?" She asked the group.

Hayley, who was sitting across from Ahsoka, put her hand up. "Is it so we know where things are located?"

Master Ti nodded. "Yes. The co-ordinates on the graph will tell us where things are." She brought a picture of a graph up on the holoprojector. "You can see here that the image of a lightsaber is located at co-ordinates (3,6). There are some problems on your holopads, for you to solve-" She was interrupted by her comlink beeping. "Master Shaak Ti here,"

"Master Shaak Ti, sorry for the interruption I am. Master Yoda this is. Going on a training mission in a couple of months' time is Clawmouse Clan. Need to prepare themselves, they do. Extra practice, I recommend." Grand Master Yoda's voice filtered through the speaker on the comlink.

Upon hearing those words, Clawmouse Clan froze. Ahsoka looked at Natalie, who in turn dropped her stylus. Arici stopped writing, whereas Hayley and Matt both looked slightly stunned. Chufa actually fell off his chair with shock, and made no move to get back up.

"Yes, Master Yoda. I will make sure they are notified," Shaak Ti said calmly. She looked around the room, smiling as she took in the expressions on her students faces. "I think they already know, though. This is the quietest I've ever seen them,"

"Briefed closer to the time, they will be. Thank you, Master Ti." Yoda replied, ending the call.

There was silence in the room. Everyone was slightly shocked. After a long moment's pause, Chufa was the first to recover. The Human got up off the floor and sat back at his desk. "Did he just say what I thought he said?"

"I dunno, it's so hard to tell with the way he talks," Arici replied. "He might have just assigned us to kitchen duty,"

"No, he definitely said that we had a training mission coming up," Matt said, grinning.

"Our first proper training mission! Are you excited, Hayley?" Ahsoka asked, practically bouncing on her chair with enthusiasm. Hayley looked up and shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess so…" She muttered vaguely. Ahsoka narrowed her eyes at her friend's response.

"What's the matter, Haze? This isn't like you. I thought you'd get way more excited than this,"

"Yeah. I'm excited. Of course!" Hayley said hollowly, fiddling with her stylus. Ahsoka frowned at the insincerity in Hayley's words. She was about to protest about Hayley's lack of enthusiasm when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Ahsoka turned around to see Natalie frowning and shaking her head.

"_Drop it."_ The Pantoran silently mouthed. Reluctantly, Ahsoka nodded. All she had wanted to do was make peace between them about whatever was annoying Hayley. But it looked like Hayley didn't even want to talk to her.

* * *

"Where's Hayley? We have half an hour until lights out and she usually hangs around without us making jokes," Ahsoka said later that evening. She and Natalie had just finished the evening meal, and were sitting in their room. In the mess hall before, Hayley had sat with Arici and Chufa. Natalie and Ahsoka hadn't seen her since.

"I have no idea, 'Soka. Perhaps we should go look for her?" Natalie asked. Ahsoka nodded and they left their room.

The girls started by looking around the mess hall and quickly glancing around the Room of a Thousand Fountains. There was no trace of Hayley.

"Maybe she went into a training room to practice?" Ahsoka sighed and looked at a chronometer on the wall. "We have quarter of an hour left,"

"Yeah. If we don't find her there, then we will just have to meet her back at our room later."

However, the girls didn't need to worry. They walked into the training room they had their lesson in that morning. And there, sure enough, was Hayley. Sweat steadily dripped off her face, making it apparent that she had been working hard for a while now. Ahsoka winced. She didn't train that hard when she was by herself. The Pantoran and Torgruta paused to watch the Human do a series of back flips before turning to fight an imaginary foe.

"This is all my fault." Ahsoka whispered.

* * *

**Couldn't find what age Initiates begin to go on training missions, so I took a bit of a guess. Chapter 8 will be up soon! Thanks for reading!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I hope everyone had a good Christmas! Thank you to those reviewers!**

**I don't own Star Wars.**

* * *

"Holopad, lightsaber, ration bars, canteen, medpac and comlink. I think I'm ready," Ahsoka rummaged around in her pack, satisfied that she had everything. The time had finally come for Clawmouse Clan to go on their first training mission. Everyone had been practicing hard for months, and all their work was beginning to pay off. Ahsoka could see that everyone in the Clan had improved especially in their fighting arts classes.

"I'm ready, as well. What about you Haze, are you good to go?" Natalie asked, as she pulled her pack on. Hayley looked up and smiled at the Pantoran.

"Of course I am! I'm always ready!" she laughed.

Ahsoka frowned. Almost everything had improved in the Clan, apart from her and Hayley's friendship. The Human would only talk to Ahsoka when she had to, which was usually in class. She saved the smiles and jokes for everyone else in the Clan, especially Natalie and Arici.

"Where do you think we're going, Hayley?" Ahsoka asked softly. Ever since the day they had been told of this mission and Ahsoka had seen Hayley work herself so harshly in the training room, the Togruta had tiptoed around her friend. Ahsoka was still convinced that it was her fault that Hayley had worked herself so hard.

"Dunno." Hayley grunted. Ahsoka sighed quietly. She had gotten used to this sort of attitude from her friend. Ahsoka had been putting up with it for months, after all. She remained quiet, not too sure if she should reply to Hayley.

"Uh, it's oh-six-hundred hours. We're due at hanger twelve in five minutes. Let's get moving!" Natalie said, breaking the silence. Ahsoka smiled gratefully at her friend.

"Right behind ya, Natz."

* * *

"There will be two exercises on this training mission," Master Plo Koon said, looking around the Clan of younglings. They were all on board a Jedi shuttle which had gone to hyperspace a little while ago. The Jedi Master was taking the opportunity to brief his students before they landed. "These exercises are designed to create teamwork and creative thinking as well as strengthen your combat skills," he paused, as Ahsoka put her hand up. "Yes, little 'Soka?"

Ahsoka smiled at the name. It had been a great surprise that Master Plo was taking their mission. The Kel Dor was one of her oldest friends, and had been the one who discovered that she was Force sensitive. "Where are we going for the training mission, Master Plo?"

"I want you all to try and identify the planet once we arrive," Plo said. "Now, the first exercise will be done in pairs. I have written up a list of who will go with who. Natalie and Matt are together, as are Arici and Chufa. And that leaves Hayley and Ahsoka as a pair," Master Plo Koon announced. Chufa and Arici both let out a loud 'Whoop' and high-fived each other.

"Watch out guys! We are going to absolutely beat you! Whatever you lot can do, we can do it better!" Chufa yelled.

"With style and good looks, too!" Arici added

Ahsoka smiled. She also liked this arrangement because she might finally get a chance to talk to Hayley. Ahsoka looked across the room at the girl, who was frowning. Ahsoka groaned. This was going to be harder than she thought.

The hyperspace alarm began to beep, interrupting Ahsoka's thoughts. They were coming out of hyperspace. Eagerly, the younglings looked out the viewport, and tried to figure out which planet they were about to land on.

"Alderaan? It's green and blue, with some cloud in places," Natalie guessed.

"Nah, there are heaps of blue and green planets," Arici said as the shuttle entered the atmosphere. Once they had landed, everyone ran out of the ship.

"I'm sure it's Alderaan," Natalie walked around, looking at the plants.

"Nah, Natz. It's not Alderaan," Ahsoka said. "Look at those giant stone heads and grasslands over there. This is Naboo. The climate is also quite muggy. Perhaps we are near a swamp?" she asked.

"Correct, little 'Soka," Plo Koon said as he walked out of the shuttle in a far more dignified manner than his students had. "Now, Clawmouse Clan, I will explain your first activity. This is more of a warm up; the real mission will come after this exercise. In that forest beside the swamp, are about ten different coloured flags. In your pairs, you need to find and collect as many flags as possible. But beware. There are many traps. You will need to be alert for training droids, tripwires and other obstacles. Have your comlinks on you at all times. Contact me if you have any problems and report back here in two hours' time. Stay in the forest, and most importantly, stay safe. May the Force be with you all." He nodded at the younglings who were in their pairs. They grinned at each other, before taking off into the forest.

* * *

"So, seen any flags recently, Haze?" Ahsoka asked as they ran through the forest.

"Nope," she replied. Ahsoka sighed. Hayley wasn't making this exercise easy. Ahsoka took a deep breath. This was probably the best chance she would get to talk to Hayley.

"Hey, Hayley, I'm really sorry about what happened months ago. I didn't deliberately want to show off, but I honestly didn't hear the instruction to stop. It doesn't make me any better than you if I got recognised for it. I really want to be friends again," Ahsoka said, keeping her voice soft, hoping to come across as sincere and honest. Hoping that unlike all the other times before, Hayley would actually _listen_ to her.

"Umm… whatever… if you want I guess…" Hayley trailed off, looking around. Ahsoka silently grimaced. That went well. Perhaps she could try again later? But Ahsoka was getting a little bit tired of this stupid mind game.

"Stop, 'Soka! There's a net in the way!" Hayley cried, swerving suddenly. Ahsoka gasped and skidded to a stop, just in front of the trap. She looked closely at the fine wire net, the metal gleaming a little in the dull light of the forest. It wasn't dangerous; there was some sort of clear soft tubing around the wires. Ahsoka sighed. For a moment there, she had thought she would get cut. Then she frowned. How had she missed spotting the net?

"Hey, there's a flag up there!" Hayley said, pointing up at one of the trees that the net was strung between. "I'll climb up." She said. Ahsoka scanned the forest around them as Hayley walked over to the trunk.

"Get down!" Ahsoka cried suddenly, throwing herself at Hayley. The Human landed on the ground and got covered in dirt. She jumped up quickly and began to brush herself off.

"Ahsoka! What on Coruscant were you thinking?!" She turned around in time to see Ahsoka gripping her left arm and staggering backwards. Hayley was about to ask her about what happened when the ground suddenly gave way underneath the Togruta.

"Aaah!" Ahsoka screamed as she fell through air before hitting the bottom of some sort of deep hole. She groaned and rolled several feet, dislodging her pack in the process and eventually landing on her back. Gasping for air, the Togruta tried to stand up, but found she couldn't. It was extremely painful when she simply raised her head. Gingerly, Ahsoka touched her face. Blood was pouring out of a gash from her forehead. She couldn't move her left arm and blood was also steadily seeping out of her leggings, indicating a serious leg wound. She suddenly felt dizzy and looked up at the forest above.

The last thing she saw was her friend's desperate face looking down on her.

The last thing she felt was a terrible pain, starting in her head and spreading throughout her entire body.

The last thing she heard was Hayley screaming out her name.

Then, everything faded to black.

* * *

**Dun dun dah! Thanks for reading!**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Thank you for reviewing! I would also like to point out that this story's rating has changed from K+ to T. Just because I'm paranoid and there's a bit of injury and violence coming. Sorry for any inconvience.**

**I don't own Star Wars.**

* * *

_Something's very wrong here _Hayley thought, kneeling at the edge of the massive hole. She was about to go down and rescue Ahsoka. But some instinct or possibly even the Force told her to stop.

_Something's very wrong here._

Hayley grimaced. Of course something was wrong! Her friend had just fallen down a large hole and was cut and bleeding. Then, Hayley frowned. What was this sort of obstacle doing on an Initiate training course anyway? It wasn't safe, unlike the tubes on the net which prevented them from getting sliced.

Suddenly, Hayley leapt back from the edge of the hole. It had just occurred to her that if it wasn't suitable to go on an Initiate course, the Council or the course designer wouldn't have put it in. Someone else had. Which meant that this wasn't just an obstacle. This was a _trap_.

Hayley activated her lightsaber, turning to face the direction Ahsoka had faced before she gripped her arm and fell. Hayley stiffened. Ahsoka had been shot, and whoever had done it was probably watching her right now.

Just as the thought crossed her mind, blaster fire whipped past her face. Hayley brought up her lightsaber and went into a Soresu blocking stance. She looked through the trees in the forest, trying to figure out who or what was attacking her.

To her great surprise, it was only a training droid. Despite the circumstances, Hayley smiled. These were pretty easy to take down. She blocked one bolt and dodged another. It slid past her arm, destroying her comlink and singeing her tunic. Hayley frowned at the smoke coming off her sleeve. Training bolts didn't do this. She deflected the next bolt back at the droid, watching in awe as the machine collapsed to the ground. Hayley quickly used the Force to pull the droid towards her. She turned it over, looking at the settings. Everything seemed fine. Next, she checked the blaster. Hayley froze as she read the settings.

_Energy remaining: 80%_

_Shots fired: 15_

_Energy setting: Full power._

Hayley gasped. Full power was what people like bounty hunters used. It was designed to kill targets. Anxiously, Hayley looked around for more attackers. It was only then that she realised what an easy target she must make. A lone youngling with a lethal weapon, but no way of contacting anyone. Hayley bit her lip. Ahsoka's life might very well be depending on her.

She had never felt more exposed or afraid.

* * *

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

Ahsoka groaned groggily as she woke up, wincing at the piercing sound. She looked around, trying to figure out what was going on and where the noise was coming from. A light was blinking on her left arm. She realised it was her comlink beeping. The Togruta tried to move her arm but gasped at the pain. Instead, she twisted over to answer the call.

"Initiate Ahsoka Tano here,"

"Soka, this is Plo Koon. Initiate Hayley's comlink has just gone off line. Are you together and are you alright?"

Ahsoka looked around the hole, feeling dizzy again. She couldn't see Hayley. "Master Plo, why did you dig such a big hole?" she asked.

"Ahsoka, there are no holes on the course," Plo Koon replied gently, but the Kel Dor was worried. Ahsoka always answered a question. She never asked questions randomly, either.

"Ooh, right, I thi…" she trailed off.

* * *

Plo Koon frowned as Ahsoka stopped talking. She sounded dazed, almost as if she had hit her head.

"Ahsoka? Ahsoka, please come in!" he cried urgently into the comlink.

There was no response, despite the fact that Ahsoka's comlink was still activated. Plo Koon was about to cut the link, when he heard a scream filter through the speakers. However, the scream was faint and followed by several blaster shots and a large crash.

Plo Koon quickly ran into the shuttle and activated a Jedi jumpspeeder. After keying in the co-ordinates of Ahsoka's current location, the Kel Dor took off towards the forest.

* * *

Hayley scanned the woods. She was about to go check Ahsoka, but heard the faint whine of a speeder somewhere in the distance. Hayley quickly climbed up a tree, preparing an ambush. She could hear her heart pounding, and quickly forced herself to calm down. The speeder was drawing closer. The Human looked through the trees, spotting a hooded figure riding closer to them. Hayley froze as the person reached under their coat. She expected a blaster to be pulled out, but was pleasently surprised when a blue beam of energy appeared instead.

"Master Koon! Ahsoka's hurt!" Hayley cried, leaping down from the tree. The speeder stopped beside her.

"What's happening, Initiate Hayley? Where is Ahsoka?" Plo Koon asked as he dismounted and deactivated his lightsaber. Hayley pointed over at a large hole. The Jedi Master's eyes widened as he saw the trap. The two of them ran over to the Togruta.

Hayley gasped as they reached the edge of the hole. Ahsoka had gotten worse. Blood was pooling around her and she was covered in dirt. Master Plo Koon jumped down to examine her. He frowned as he saw the blaster burn on her arm.

"What happened?" He asked, beginning to clean Ahsoka's wounds with the medpac from her bag.

"I don't know. Ahsoka was watching the forest and I was about to climb that tree to get a flag," Hayley said, gesturing to the tree. "Suddenly she yells and pushes me over. I got up in time to see her grasping her left arm and staggering backwards. Then, the ground appeared to collapse under her and she feel into the hole. I was about to help her when a droid started shooting at me. I blocked most of the bolts, but my comlink got shot. I deflected a bolt at the droid and destroyed it. After that, I had a look at the droid and its blaster. Someone had changed the settings to full power," Hayley blurted out quickly.

"Full power? All the blasters were on low power," Plo Koon replied calmly. He paused, thinking. "What's the time?"

"Sixteen hundred hours. The exercise is due to finish now. Everyone will be at the shuttle," Hayley said.

"Someone knew we were coming. They sabotaged the exercise by setting a trap up right beside a flag," Plo mused as he used the Force to lift a still unconscious Ahsoka out of the hole. "That means they knew what was happening. And we still have four other Initiates out there," he said frowning.

"Do you want me to contact them, Master?" Hayley asked the Master as he lifted Ahsoka onto the speeder.

"Yes, please, Hayley."

* * *

"Hahaha! Its Mat and Natz! We got four flags! Beat that!" Chufa yelled as a tired Natalie and exhausted Matt ran over towards the shuttle. The sweaty pair sat down, trying to catch their breath.

"When did you two get here? Oh, and we got five flags. Take that!" Natalie grinned, still panting from the run.

"About five minutes ago. Hey, have you seen Master Koon around? We haven't seen him since the start of the exercise," Chufa asked. Arici frowned, deep in thought.

"No, we-" Natalie was cut off by Arici.

"What did you mean that you have five flags? We have four," he interrupted, urgently.

"Relax, it was only a warm up-" Matt began.

"NO!" Arici yelled. Everyone turned to look at him, taken aback by his outburst. Arici looked each of them in the eye before continuing. "Together, we have nine of the ten flags. Ahsoka and Hayley are basically the best people in this Clan, especially when it comes to exercises like this. In a pair together, they should have been unstoppable. So, why is it that they only collected one flag?"

Everybody froze as they realised what Arici was saying.

"Ahsoka and Hayley are both late. And, Master Plo Koon isn't here, either," Natalie said gravely. A long silence stretched between the younglings, as they tried to figure out the best course of action.

The silence was broken by everybody's comlinks going off.

"Get out of there! Get on board the shuttle and go get back-up, quickly! This is Hayley and we are under attack! We also need a medic for Ahsoka. Contact the Jedi Temple! Hurry, Clawmouse Clan! That's an order!"

* * *

**Thank you for reading!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Thank you for reviewing :) ! Here's chapter 10. **

**I don't own Star Wars.**

* * *

Master Plo handed Hayley his comlink. "Tell everyone that we will be at the shuttle soon. They need to look out as there may be other droids. We aren't too sure what's happening,"

"Yes, Master." Hayley said as she turned the transmitter on. She was about to call everyone when the comlink was blown apart. "Master!" She cried, turning to where the shot had come from. There, behind them, stood about five of the scariest beings Hayley had ever seen. They were all armed with an assortment of daggers, knives and blasters. Hayley froze.

"Looks like we got a couple of Jedi. Our employer will be most pleased!" The leader said, laughing.

"Pretty good trap, huh? I've caught a lot of nunas with holes like this. Looks like we just caught a few more!" another man laughed cruelly, sneering at Hayley.

"I think my idea to change the settings on that droid was pretty good!" A Rodian piped up. The leader sent him a dirty look.

"Get Ahsoka under cover! Jump back into the hole!" Master Plo ordered, activating his lightsaber. Hayley blinked and somehow managed to unfreeze herself. She nodded, before running towards the speeder. She just had time to lift her friend off the speeder before it suddenly exploded. Hayley didn't look back, but she could sense the leader's cruel smile as he shot their only transport.

The Human took a running leap and jumped into the hole. She gently set Ahsoka down. As she did, Hayley realised that she was covered in Ahsoka's blood. She looked over her friend and gasped, trying to not throw up. Some of the metal from the exploding speeder had cut into Ahsoka. Hayley looked away. She had never seen anything like this before.

Trying to rid her mind of the images, Hayley looked out of the hole to see that Master Plo was struggling against the five people. Hayley guessed that they were bounty hunters. Thinking quickly, she ran back over to where Ahsoka lay. Hayley picked up her friend's lightsaber.

"I'm sorry, Ahsoka," she whispered as she lifted it off her friend's belt. Then, she raced back over to the Jedi Master.

"Master Koon!" She cried, throwing him Ahsoka's lightsaber. She just had time to see him nod back and ignite it before she ran back to Ahsoka.

Blocking out the sound of the fight above her was the hardest thing Hayley had ever done. Instead, she scoped Ahsoka up into her arms and talked to her. Hayley knew that her friend couldn't hear her. But, she was also aware that Ahsoka was running out of time.

"I'm so sorry, Ahsoka. Sorry for being a snob, for being jealous. Despite all the things I did, you still took that shot for me, caring more about my survival than your own. You fell into that hole for me. Please hold on! Help will come..." Hayley said, fighting back tears as she looked at her dying friend. She knew that help wouldn't come. No-one knew where they were. Both her and Master Plo's comlink were destroyed.

Hayley looked at her friend. There had to be something she could do. And that was when Hayley saw the comlink on Ahsoka's arm. Full of hope, Hayley grabbed it and contacted the rest of the Clan, telling them to get out and come back with medics and backup.

* * *

"Hurry, Arici! Master Plo, Ahsoka and Hayley are depending on us!" Natalie said, urgently. The four younglings were on board the shuttle. Arici, who was the best pilot among them, was trying to start the ship.

"I'm doing my best! But I've only had ten piloting lessons. I'm not exactly Anakin Skywalker!" He snapped.

"Dude, that's ten more lessons than the rest of us have had. If anyone can do it, it's you!" Chufa said, nodding at Matt.

Matt caught on fast. "That's right! Come on Arici, you've always said that you wanted to fly a proper ship! This is your chance!"

Arici rolled his eyes as he hit a button and flipped a few switches. Suddenly, the ship began to rumble under the Initiates, screens and controls lighting up as the shuttle started. Arici grinned at the rest of the Clan.

"Next stop, Theed!"

Matt, Chufa and Natalie all strapped themselves in the seats as Arici guided the ship up into the air.

"Wait! It will take us ages to go to Theed and come back with back-up! From the sound of that call, Master Koon and Hayley need help right now," Matt said.

"Yeah. Who are they fighting? Perhaps we could help?" Chufa asked. Natalie activated her comlink.

"Hayley, who's attacking you?" she asked.

"There are about five bounty hunters. Master Plo is surrounded. Ahsoka has lost a lot of blood and also taken some shrapnel. Where's that back-up?" Hayley yelled into the comlink. Natalie could hear explosions and blaster shots in the background.

"Hang on, Hayley. We're coming." Natalie said before ending the call. She then turned to the rest of the Clan. "There are five bounty hunters fighting Master Koon. Ahsoka's badly wounded and is running out of time. I think Hayley's looking after her. Going for back-up will take too long."

"Let's fly to their co-ordinates. We can use the shuttle's cannons to destroy the bounty hunters!" Chufa suggested. From the pilot's seat, Arici nodded, before turning the shuttle around and heading back towards the forest.

* * *

Hayley frowned as Natalie ended the conversation. What was she meant to do now? Should she help Master Koon fight or bandage Ahsoka?

Hayley didn't know much about this sort of situation, but she did know that hesitating was the worst thing to do. The Human quickly stood up, watching the Jedi Master fight with the two lightsabers. Hayley nodded to herself. He could hold his own, for the moment. She was about to turn back to help Ahsoka when she spotted the leader standing behind his men.

Hayley squinted, trying to get a better view. The leader was talking on a hologram. Hayley strained her Jedi senses, trying to hear what he was saying. It wasn't easy over the din of the fight, but she could catch snippets of the conversation.

"…yranus, your plan isn't working. We cannot capture any younglings. A Jedi Master has rescued them and is fighting my men. If you don't mind me saying so, this was a stupid plan! The Jedi will be onto us now," the leader yelled.

"My Master will be most displeased when he hears of your failure," the hooded figure spoke calmly and elegantly. "Those younglings are the future of the Jedi Order. We can weaken the Order by removing them, which will therefore weaken the Republic. But if you cannot complete this simple task, then you will be fired. I will simply move into the next phase of the plan."

Hayley shuddered. She could see the hologram of the man called 'yranus'. He was wearing a cloak with a hood, which was covering his face. He spoke softly, but even through the transmission, Hayley could hear a threating undertone. She got the impression that this wasn't a man you wanted to cross.

There was a sudden explosion. Hayley ducked back down in the hole as dirt rained down around everyone. She tried to cover Ahsoka, but her friend was so dirty that Hayley didn't think it would make much of a difference. Once it was safe, Hayley stood back up. The leader was dead, but the explosion had pushed the hologram closer to her. Hayley briefly saw the image of the hooded figure, before the transmitter exploded.

Hayley frowned. She wanted to know who that 'ranus' person was. What were these plans about weakening the Jedi Order? She was about to reach for the transmitter when blue blaster fire unexpectedly erupted all around her. Hayley looked up and saw the Jedi shuttle swooping down towards the bounty hunters. She looked into the cockpit. Arici was piloting, whereas Natalie and Chufa were in the gunner's seats.

Hayley watched, smiling, as Master Plo Force-jumped out of the way, allowing Natalie and Chufa a clear shot at the bounty hunters. The pirates didn't stand a chance against the shuttle's cannons and were quickly destroyed.

As Hayley waved at the shuttle, Ahsoka's comlink started beeping. Hayley quickly scrambled down to answer it.

"Hey there, Hayley. This is Natalie. Arici is going to take the shuttle down to a clearing about 0.2 klicks north from your position. That's the closest place we can land. We have a medical droid set up for Ahsoka. Can you get to us?"

"Yep, that's great. See you soon, Natalie." Hayley replied, ending the call. She looked up as Master Koon walked over to her.

"Arici has taken the shuttle to a clearing about 0.2 klicks north. They have a medical droid ready for Ahsoka," she informed the Jedi Master.

"Good work, Initiate Hayley." Plo replied as he picked Ahsoka up and Hayley retrieved her pack. She watched as Master Koon used the Force to push the bounty hunter's bodies and the remains of the speeder into the hole, before swiftly covering it with dirt and leaves.

Then, the Jedi Master and two Initiates headed north through the forest to the shuttle.

* * *

**Hmm. Not too sure if Dooku (Tyranus) would be running around right now, trying to weaken the Jedi Order (using bounty hunters) before the Clone Wars. Wiki said that he turned to the dark side a few years before Attack of the Clones. This chapter is set about two or three years before Attack of the Clones, so I guess it works. Just! :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Sorry, sorry, sorry! I haven't updated in ages. I've been pretty busy lately and when I finally get some free time I'm often too tired to update. So, this chapter probably won't be my best work. But anyway, thank you for reviewing :) ! Here's Chapter 11?! (I think that's where we're up to?!) Anyway, enjoy. :) **

**I don't own The Clone Wars.**

* * *

"The bounty hunters have failed us, my Lord," Count Dooku said, bowing before a hologram of his Master.

"Do you realise how important this was for my plans? By removing younglings now, the Jedi Order will be weak and the Clone Wars will destroy it," Darth Sidious sneered. "But now, the Jedi will be warned. Training missions will be better protected, and harder for us to attack. You have failed me, my apprentice,"

"Yes, my Master," Dooku replied, continuing to bow. "However, we can still destroy this Clan,"

Darth Sidious smiled cruelly. "How?" He asked.

"The Master and two younglings are separated from the rest of the Clan. One of the younglings is badly injured. The rest of the Clan have taken the shuttle to a clearing to pick up the Master and the two younglings. However, I have set up traps all around the clearing. I thought that something like this would happen. It will be impossible for the Master and younglings to get to the shuttle. They won't see the traps until they are right in the middle of them. And then they will die. The rest of the Clan will also die if they try to help them," Dooku stated, triumphantly.

"And the Jedi Order will lose an entire Clan and a member of their Council. Are you sure this will work?" Sidious hissed. "There is no room for any more failure,"

"Yes, my Lord," Dooku said, relieved that they were talking via hologram. Had it been face to face, the repercussions could have been much more sever. His Master wasn't known for compassion. Rather, his lack of it.

"Good work, Tyranus." Sidious replied, an evil smile crossing his face as he ended the transmission.

Dooku stood up as the hologram faded, smiling just as cruelly as his Master had. He would earn his teacher's approval, one way or another.

* * *

"Master Koon, shouldn't we be more careful? What if there are more holes?" Hayley asked as they walked through the forest.

"We are being careful, but we also need to reach the ship quickly. Ahsoka's not doing too well," Plo replied, inwardly groaning. 'Not doing too well' was a massive understatement, but he didn't want Hayley to worry. He looked around the forest. There wasn't any sign of anyone else following them.

They continued walking. Soon, the trees began to thin out and Hayley could just make out the shuttle.

"Master Koon, it looks like-" Hayley stopped. Something had made a 'click'.

"Stay still, Hayley! Don't move your foot!" Plo commanded. Hayley looked at him, worry creasing her forehead.

"What's happening? What's wrong?" she asked anxiously.

"You've stepped on a landmine. You'll be fine if you don't move," Plo Koon said gently as Hayley gasped, looking down at her foot. She couldn't believe that there was an explosive just underneath it.

Plo Koon frowned. They had been fine walking through the rest of the forest. The other Initiates had also been fine. So, the rest of the forest must be safe. This was the only clearing in the forest big enough to hold a shuttle. And someone had put landmines around it.

Therefore, like the hole in the forest, this was a trap.

"My leg's starting to cramp up. Is it possible to just jump off?" Hayley asked, desperately. "I read that these things have a countdown and will blow up eventually,"

"Calm down, Hayley. I would use the Force to push you away from it, but there may be more around. We don't want to risk you landing on another one. Just give me a moment to think," the Kel Dor replied quietly as he looked around the forest. Hayley also began to scan the trees, searching for an escape route.

"What about using the trees?" she asked, pointing upwards. Hayley could still remember using the branches in a training exercise months ago.

"Hmm. I'll go up and check that everything's stable up there. Then, I'll use the Force to lift you up," the Jedi Master said as he began to scale a tree about ten meters away, still carrying Ahsoka.

As he climbed, Plo began to think. He was sure that the person who dug the hole was the same person who had set up the mines. Which meant that they really wanted to capture the Jedi and that there would be other traps.

So far, the person had correctly predicted what they would do. Plo shuddered slightly. Whoever their foe was, they knew how to think like a Jedi.

Plo warily stepped onto the branch, gently testing it as put more weight on it. It seemed fine, so he stepped onto it.

"The branch is fine, Hayley," he said as he quickly used the Force to lift her over and up into the tree. Just as Hayley grabbed the branch, the mine exploded, shaking the Jedi. Hayley nearly got thrown off the branch, but managed to grab onto the end.

"How far is it to the shuttle, Master?" Hayley asked as she dangled underneath the branch, before pulling herself up.

"About twenty meters. I think we should keep going through the trees. Isn't that what your Clan did once on an exercise?" Plo asked.

Hayley nodded, slightly amazed that the Master knew about that exercise. He hadn't even been there. She was unaware that Master Yoda had actually talked to the Council about what the Clan had done that day.

They came closer to the shuttle with each leap. Hayley could soon see the rest of the Clan standing beside the lowered landing ramp. The Initiate smiled. It looked like they would make it after all.

She was so focused on looking over at her friends that she misjudged her next jump. Hayley's foot slipped off the branch and for the second time that day she had to grab onto the tree. However, this time part of the branch broke off and fell to the forest floor. Hayley watched, still hanging onto the tree, as the branch triggered some sort of trap.

The log hit the ground with a massive smashing sound. Hayley flinched at the noise, looking down at where the branch had fallen. Suddenly, a loop of wire appeared around the branch, lifting it up into the air. Hayley gaped at the trap. If she hadn't jumped off that branch at the last moment, she would be trapped with it.

The human was about to turn away when there was a flash of light. Looking back, Hayley tried to keep from screaming in terror as the branch was electrocuted.

"Hayley, jump! NOW!" Plo yelled. Hayley, still shaken from seeing the electrocuted branch, turned to look at the Jedi Master, before looking back at the branch. It was on fire.

Hayley quickly leapt to the next tree and could sense Plo doing the same, right beside her. They reached the edge of the clearing. Hayley summoned the Force, preparing to leap over most of the clearing and land next to the ship. As she left the tree, Hayley felt like she was being shoved. She realised that Master Koon had Force pushed her over to the shuttle.

Once she had landed and rolled over to minimise the force of her landing, Hayley turned back in time to see the Jedi Master fly through the air, still carrying Ahsoka, and execute a perfect landing.

"Master Koon! We have a medical droid ready for Ahsoka. The Council has also contacted us, asking about why you haven't spoken to them yet," Arici called as the Master ran over to the shuttle, gently putting Ahsoka on a stretcher so she was ready for the Medical droid.

"Thank you, Initiate Arici. I will speak to them now." He replied as he ran into the shuttle and over to the communication device.

"Master Plo Koon. Alright is everything? Unable to contact you, we were," Master Yoda asked as Plo bowed to the Grand Master.

"Master Yoda. Sorry, I've been out of communications. We've had a bit of a situation. Several bounty hunters set up a trap to catch the Initiates. All the bounty hunters died, and Initiate Ahsoka Tano got severely injured. She is being stabilised by the Medical droid on board now," he stated, taking in the slight frown forming on Master Yoda's face.

"Behind this attack, were the bounty hunters?" The Grand Master asked. Master Koon paused, and this time it was his turn to frown.

"I don't know, Master," the Kel Dor replied, looking up as Hayley entered the room.

"Excuse me, my Masters," Hayley said, bowing deeply before them. "I think I can help a little with that. Permission to speak?" She asked, knowing that it was quite possible that the entire Council was watching this hologram.

Yoda looked at her curiously. Hayley froze, wondering if she had said something wrong.

"Granted, Initiate Hayley," he said, nodding at the youngling. Hayley bowed back.

"Thank you, Masters. While the bounty hunters were attacking Master Koon, I was looking after Ahsoka in the hole the bounty hunters had used as a trap. When the bounty hunters started attacking Master Koon, I ran over to him and gave him Ahsoka's lightsaber. After that, I was about to duck back down, but I saw the leader of the bounty hunters," she paused, trying to catch her breath. Master Yoda nodded for her to continue.

"What did you see, young one?" he asked.

"He was talking on a hologram to a hooded figure. The hooded figure was called 'Yranus' or something like that. I could only hear parts of their conversation. Yranus kept saying something about a plan to weaken the Jedi Order by killing younglings. He also said that his Master would not be pleased if the plan failed," Hayley answered, frowning in concentration as she tried to explain what happened as accurately as possible.

"Hmmm. Be debriefed later you will be, Master Koon and Initiate Hayley." Master Yoda said gently before ending the transmission. Hayley gasped as the image of the Grand Master faded. She was going to be debriefed in front of the Council? The Human smiled.

She couldn't wait to tell Ahsoka.

* * *

**Thanks for reading :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Hello, everyone! Thank you for reviewing, reviewers! Here's chapter 12.**

**I don't own Star Wars...**

* * *

Dooku grinned in satisfaction as the landmine was triggered. He had planted cameras in the forest, and could see the youngling who was trapped. He sniggered as she cried for help. Initiates these days were so pathetic. There was no hope for the little youngling.

The Sith Lord continued to watch as a Jedi Master, who was carrying another youngling, talked to the Initiate before climbing up a tree. Dooku narrowed his eyes slightly. What was the Master up to? He leaned closer to the screen, watching as the Jedi extended a hand towards the trapped Initiate and used the Force to lift her to safety.

Dooku frowned and swore quietly. Those Jedi _would_ die one way or another. There were many other traps. They might have gotten lucky once, but Dooku doubted that their luck would hold.

So, he was unpleasantly surprised when the Initiate stumbled away from the branch he had weakened. Instead of the youngling falling, the branch hit the ground and sprung the trap. Dooku smirked at the look of sheer terror on the youngling's face as the branch caught on fire, but his smug expression soon faded to one of anger as all three Jedi successfully made it to the clearing.

He watched furiously as the Jedi boarded the shuttle and put the fire out with the on-board fire extinguisher. The camera in the forest got covered in powder, and Dooku's screen went blank.

The Sith apprentice scowled at the empty screen as the Jedi escaped. He was about to stand up and leave the room when his comlink suddenly began to beep. With a sense of dread, Dooku answered the call, bowing before the image of his Master.

"Now, we will discuss your failure, my unworthy apprentice."

* * *

-_Three Days Later_-

Light. Blinding light.

Ahsoka groaned as she blinked her eyes open. All around her, she could see only white. The youngling tried to cover her eyes with a hand, but stopped when she felt something snag. Squinting, she looked down to see some sort of tube stuck in her arm. Ahsoka frowned. She must be in the Medical Bay, although she had no idea how she had gotten there.

Once her eyes had adjusted, the Torgruta yawned and looked around the room. There were a couple of holopads scattered about, a few empty beds and some more tubes resting on a bench beside her. Ahsoka sighed as she completed her scan of the room. She was by herself and this place looked really boring.

"You finally woke up! You've been sleeping for ages!" Natalie said as she came bouncing into the room. Hayley was just behind the Pantoran, grinning widely at Ahsoka.

"Someone loves to sleep in," the Human laughed as she and Natalie sat down on the edge of Ahsoka's bed.

Ahsoka tried to sit up. "Uh…I guess. Why am I here...How did I get here… What happened?" She asked, feeling slightly dizzy and quickly lying back down. "The last thing I remember was falling down a large hole and seeing you, Hayley,"

"Relax, Ahsoka," Hayley said, smiling at her friend. "You were really badly hurt. I won't tell you what happened until you stop moving around!"

Ahsoka rolled her eyes at Hayley. "Ok, fine," she said, leaning back against her pillow.

"Good. Well, after you fell down the hole, I was attacked by a training droid…" Hayley began to tell Ahsoka everything that had happened after she had hit her head and lost consciousness. The Togruta listened to her friend wide-eyed, especially when Hayley went into a lot of detail describing the fight with the bounty hunters.

The Human had nearly finished telling the story, when Natalie's comlink began to beep. The Pantoran sighed.

"I better get going. I promised to help Matt with his Politics work this break. See you later, 'Soka. I'll visit you when I have some spare time. And, I'll meet you in Maths, Hayley." Natalie said, smiling at Ahsoka before leaving the room. Hayley and Ahsoka both waved back as she left.

"Right. So, where was I?" Hayley asked as she turned back to her friend. The Torgruta shrugged.

"You were talking to Master Yoda via hologram on the shuttle," Ahsoka replied. Hayley smiled as she remembered what had happened.

"Oh, yeah, that! Well, he told me that I would be de-briefed in front of the Council. And I was, yesterday. I told them everything I just told you, you know, about that person called Yranus and all the traps. Master Koon was with me for the debriefing. And, get this, he told the Council that I was very responsible and mature Initiate and I worked well under pressure," The Human babbled excitedly. Ahsoka frowned slightly, but it went unnoticed by her happy friend. "Then Yoda turned to me and said 'done well you have, Initiate. Pleased with you, I am.' Isn't that awesome?" Hayley asked, grinning. Ahsoka quickly tried to wipe the frown off her face and smiled.

"That…really is so awesome, Hayley. Good on you!" Ahsoka replied, continuing to smile at her friend. Hayley beamed back, not noticing how strained the Togruta's grin was.

"Thanks, 'Soka! You really deserve some of the praise. You saved me from the training droid by taking that blaster bolt. I never got to say thank you for doing that. But, I'm really glad to have you as my friend. So, how are you feeling, anyway?" Hayley questioned as she hopped off her friend's bed and pulled up a chair. Ahsoka shrugged.

"I'm fine, I guess," she responded quietly, picking at some of the strands of fraying material on her blanket.

"You, sure? You look really tired," Hayley stated, watching the Togruta play with the blanket.

"Uh… yeah. I'm quite tired. I think I should go back to sleep. Thanks for visiting me, Hayley," Ahsoka replied, yawning a little, but not making eye contact with Hayley.

The older girl smiled as she looked at the chronometer on the wall. "No problem, 'Soka. I've got to go to class now, anyway. I'll come by later, ok?"

The Togruta nodded as the Human left. Once Hayley was gone, Ahsoka let out a small sigh.

"You've been ignoring me for several months, just because I accidentally did better than you in Lightsaber Class. But I still want you to be my friend, so when you got into danger, I saved you. In fact, I got shot, fell down a massive hole and was practically stuffed with shrapnel. Yes, I nearly died protecting you. Yet you get all the praise from the Masters and your moment of glory in front of the Council while I'm still lying unconscious in a Medical Bay! And all you can say is that you're glad I'm your friend! Thanks, Hayley! You're so, so, so welcome!" Ahsoka muttered angrily at the door the older girl had left through. She did feel slightly guilty about saying such mean things behind her friend's back, but right now, her outrage at Hayley's treatment was much stronger than any guilt she felt.

Ahsoka was about to rant again when there was a sudden pain in her leg. Wincing, the youngling tried to roll over and take some of the strain off. It didn't help and Ahsoka realised that the painkillers must be wearing off. She looked around her room, but couldn't find any comlink or way of asking a Med Droid for help.

Letting out a hiss of frustration at the pain, Ahsoka rolled over again. She had two options. She could either walk and find a Med Droid or lie in bed and bear the pain. The Initiate groaned. The recovery rooms were close to the surgery and supply rooms. There would be heaps of droids and painkillers there. In fact, there was probably a droid sitting at the end of the corridor outside her room waiting to be commed for assistance. Ahsoka considered sticking her head into the hallway and yelling for help, but knew she couldn't. She was too weak, too sore and tended to get dizzy when she got up. Not to mention that she had all sorts of tubes stuck in her. There was no way she could walk or even crawl out of her room.

Ahsoka grimaced as she pulled herself up into a sitting position. She wouldn't call out for help, as that would upset other patients. The Initiate frowned. There had to be something she could do. The Torgruta tried to go over her Katas in her mind, but found it didn't help much. It only reminded her about how she had kept falling over because she didn't trust the Force, but then Master Fisto had helped her….

_Trust the Force. We don't need to rely on ourselves all the time._

Ahsoka frowned as she remembered Master Fisto's words. They had helped her once. Could they help her again? The youngling took a deep breath and ignored the pain as she got into a meditation position. Then, she closed her eyes and let go.

It was hard, but Ahsoka managed to detach herself from the pain. In fact, she let go of everything. Her anger at Hayley, the boredom of lying around without anyone to talk to and weird sensation of having tubes stuck in her arm.

Her mind was soon empty, but she felt free. All she could sense was the Force around her. She smiled. Without her anger at Hayley, she could feel the Light side strongly. And she felt safe.

"Little 'Soka? Are you ok?" A voice interrupted her. Ahsoka opened her eyes, and was surprised to see Master Koon sitting on the chair Hayley had used.

"Master Plo! I'm so glad to see you!" Ahsoka exclaimed, beaming at the Kel-Dor.

"Likewise, little 'Soka," the Master replied, putting a hand on the Togruta's shoulder. "How are you feeling?"

Ahsoka shrugged. "I'm alright. You wouldn't happen to have any painkillers, would you? My leg is so sore. I couldn't call a droid because there wasn't a comlink in my room and yelling would upset the other patients. That's why I was meditating; to let go of the pain," the Initiate said, looking up hopefully.

Master Plo chuckled. "You're very wise, Ahsoka. Turning to the Force for help is something that more Jedi need to learn to do," he nodded as he reached under her bed. Ahsoka tried to look at what he was doing, but felt dizzy again so lay down.

"What is it, Master Plo?" she asked curiously.

"You did well to use the Force to let go of the pain, little 'Soka. But you could have used the Force differently and gotten an even better result," the Kel-Dor smiled behind his mask as he showed Ahsoka the comlink which had fallen under her bed. "You could have used the Force to sense if it was there or not!"

The youngling groaned as he handed the communications device to her. "You mean it was there all along?" she asked as she called the Med Droid.

Master Plo waited until she had finished the transmission before talking again. "Just because you cannot see something does not mean that it's not there, little 'Soka. Sometimes we need to think a bit more about what's happening before we can come to a conclusion,"

Ahsoka frowned as she tried to understand the lesson her mentor was presenting. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you are one sick youngling in a ward all by yourself. Wouldn't it be dangerous to leave you without communications, even if there is a droid just down the corridor?" Plo asked, watching as Ahsoka began to nod in understanding.

"Oh, I think I understand it a bit more now. You need to notice the little details in order to understand the complete big picture," the youngling grinned as the Med droid came in and gave her the painkiller. She watched as it checked a few holopads before walking back out. "Master Plo, can I ask you a question?" Ahsoka asked.

"I think you just did, little 'Soka," the Master chuckled as he sat back in his chair and made a 'go ahead' gesture.

Ahsoka paused, thinking. "Well, when you were my age, were you ever angry at another Initiate? Like, you had done something to help or even save them, but they ended up getting all the recognition? And did they ever rub it in, purposely or not?"

It was Plo's turn to pause, deep in thought. "Is this about Hayley?" he questioned, watching as Ahsoka gaped at him.

"How did you know?" she asked, continuing to gape.

"Well, what happened to you two fits the question you asked. And, you don't often ask random questions." Plo explained. Ahsoka sighed dramatically before grinning.

"Noticing the little things, right?"

"You catch on fast, little 'Soka." Plo replied, nodding his approval. "No, that never happened to me that I can remember. Though, I do understand why you would find that frustrating. Hmmm. Tell me, when you meditated, did you let go of that anger as well?"

"Yes, Master Plo. It was the hardest thing to let go of, but I could really feel the Light side without my anger. It was like when I train and use the Force when I have a blindfold on. A fog seemed to lift and I could feel everything again," Ahsoka nodded.

The Kel- Dor grinned behind his mask. "And once you could feel the Light side, did it really matter about who got praised in front of the Council and who didn't?"

Ahsoka smiled sheepishly. "No, it didn't. It was just me and the Force. I knew that my skills and quick thinking had gotten Hayley to safety. So, even if she got all the attention for something when I did something just as hard or even harder, who really cares? It doesn't make me better than her and it certainly doesn't make her better than me!"

Plo stood up and set the chair tidily against the wall. "You just learnt something as an Initiate that some of the Padawans can't comprehend. There is a lot of stupid competing at this level in the Order about who is the best at what. Many members of the Council are fed up with it. And those Padawans and Initiates aren't doing themselves a favour. But you will make a wise Jedi Master one day, little 'Soka," he said as he headed towards the door.

Ahsoka grinned. "Thank you, Master Plo. Can you come back later? Maybe you could tell me about what it was like for you as an Initiate?" she asked, waving at the Master. She could practically see his smile beneath the breathing mask as he replied.

"Of course I can, Ahsoka."

* * *

**Good old Plo. I think that he and Ahsoka are just great together in friendship stories. :) (They remind me of a dad and daughter sometimes!)! This chapter was a bit longer than the others. I hope I didn't drown you guys in too much dialogue. The next chapter should have a bit more action. In response to Me's (Guest login) question, I'll see what I can do about more Anakin. I'm sorry, I'm really slack at answering reviewer's questions. If I have missed you out, I'm very sorry. I really do appreciate your reviews!**

**Thank you for reading! :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Hey there, everyone! Thank you for reviewing! :) Here's chapter 13.**

**I don't own The Clone Wars. **

* * *

Ahsoka stretched out on her back before rolling over onto her front. This was part of the warm up for Clawmouse Clan's Physical Education class. The class was designed to teach Initiates how to move and use their Force abilities in a variety of ways. Their class was normally taken by Aayla Secura and occasionally by Yoda.

Ahsoka finished warming up and walked over to where her friends were training under Master Secura's strict eye. Ahsoka admired Master Secura. The Twi'Lek was a kind, compassionate Master, but could be really firm when she needed to be.

Right now, Clawmouse Clan was working on their rope skills. Ahsoka had only gotten out of the Medical Bay two days ago and was still sore, so she wasn't taking part in the exercise. The Togruta was a little bit disappointed. Physical Ed. was one of her favourite subjects.

However, it was also very entertaining to watch.

"Pull, Arici! More upper body strength is required for this exercise. Now, swing up and push off the wall, keep swinging back, then let go and try to land on your feet!" Aayla called. Ahsoka smiled. Aayla was one of the few Masters who had grasped the technique of letting her voice carry without seeming to shout. Perhaps that was the reason her students felt so safe with her. And that trust was important when she was teaching a difficult or scary exercise.

Ahsoka continued to watch, amused, as Arici slipped off the rope halfway through the exercise and landed on top of Chufa.

"Dude, what happened to your upper body strength?" Chufa groaned, trying to pull himself out from under his friend.

"Dunno. Probably the same thing that happened to your situational awareness. Why were you walking underneath me when I was swinging, anyway?" Arici asked as he rolled off onto the mat, unharmed. Chufa also escaped uninjured and got up and shrugged.

"I was just trying to see what you were up to, you know? Besides you're pretty good at this. Don't fall down to my level!" He laughed. Arici rolled his eyes.

"Real funny, Chufa. Real funny," Arici muttered to his hysterical friend.

"Lighten up already! Or at least lighten up if you plan to fall on me again!" Chufa cried, completely losing it and doubling over in laughter.

Aayla rolled her eyes at the Initiates. "Ok, enough already. You've had your fun, boys. Now, get back up those ropes!"

Chufa managed to pull himself together long enough to nod to the Jedi Master, before bursting into another fit of giggles. Arici shook his head at Chufa in mock disapproval before climbing back up the rope.

The Togruta was about to go see how Natalie was doing when the class was interrupted by Master Secura's comlink beeping. Ahsoka looked up as Aayla sighed and answered it.

"Master Secura here,"

"Master Secura, Master Yoda this is. Taking Clawmouse Clan now, are you?" Yoda inquired.

"Yes Master. Do you need to talk to them?" Aayla asked.

"Going on a training mission in a few months, they will be. Missed out on half of their last one, did they,"

"I will pass that on-" Aayla got interrupted by a loud whoop from Chufa and Arici.

Through the comlink, Yoda chuckled. "Thank you, Master Secura."

* * *

-_A Few Months Later_-

"Wake up Natalie! We get to do the rest of our training mission today!" Ahsoka cried, pulling the Pantoran's pillow off the bed. Ahsoka had been looking forward to this day for months. She had completely recovered from her injuries and was ready to complete the mission this time.

"Ahsoka, its five-hundred hours. We still have another two hours until we're due at the hanger," Natalie groaned, desperately trying to find her pillow.

"I know. I'm already packed!" Ahsoka laughed, throwing the pillow across the room. Natalie sighed before getting up to grab it. Unfortunately, the noise caused Hayley to wake up.

"What's going on?" The human asked, blinking her eyes at her two friends. "This is not the time for pillow fights," she said, looking at the pillow in Natalie's hands.

"Ahsoka stole my pillow," Natalie complained, trudging back to her bed.

"Ever since you two have turned twelve and thirteen, you practically live in bed!" Ahsoka groaned. Then, she smiled. "Guess whose Life Day it is today?"

Natalie rolled her eyes. "It's not unreasonable to sleep at five in the morning, 'Soka," she mumbled. "Wait, it's your Life Day today, isn't it?"

Ahsoka grinned. "Yep, I'm twelve now!" the Torgruta stated proudly.

"Happy Life Day, Ahsoka," Hayley smiled as she got up. Ahsoka beamed back. She was glad that Hayley had gone back to being kind again. The Torgruta had taken Master Plo's advice, and didn't let the praise Hayley had received upset her. There had been several times when she was tempted to say something nasty in the past months. But she had resisted the urge, and their friendship was pretty much fixed. Looking back now, Ahsoka could see the wisdom in what Master Plo had told her. Had she acted mean back to Hayley, she would have just added fuel to the fire.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud sigh from Natalie.

"I guess we had to get up in half an hour to get ready, anyway," The Pantoran said as she sat up and rubbed her eyes, before pulling her pack out.

Ahsoka grinned at her friend. "That's more like it!"

Once Hayley and Natalie had finished packing, the girls headed to the Mess for a quick breakfast.

"What do you think we will get to do?" Ahsoka asked as she skipped out of their room first. Not looking where she was going, the Torgruta ran straight into another Jedi. "Sorry!" she cried, falling over.

"Ahsoka!" Natalie yelled, running over to her friend.

"I'm fine," Ahsoka replied, rubbing her head where she had hit it on the floor.

"Someone's a bit enthusiastic," a male voice muttered sarcastically. Ahsoka glanced up to see two boys standing in front of them.

"Yeah, I reckon," the second boy replied. Ahsoka gasped. She knew that voice. Slowly, she raised her head and made eye contact with the Chosen One. Padawan Skywalker frowned back at her. "Wait, do I know you?"

Ahsoka groaned to herself. "Uh, you and Master Kenobi took a class with my Clan about a year ago," she mumbled.

"Oh, right. Whatever," he said rolling his eyes. The other boy laughed.

"Imagine this lot as Padawans! They wouldn't last a mynock minute!" Anakin's friend chuckled, while Anakin sniggered at the three girls. Ahsoka narrowed her eyes at the two Padawans.

"You don't-" the Torgruta began, but was cut off by Natalie putting a hand on her shoulder and shaking her head. Ahsoka sighed at her friend.

The two boys left, still laughing, as the rest of the Clan arrived.

"Where have you guys been?" Arici asked as he walked over to the girls.

"Yeah! We were waiting for ages at our table for you to show up…" Chufa added.

"…But then we thought that Natalie and Hayley would be sleeping in…" Arici said as he grinned at Hayley. The Human rolled her eyes back at him.

"…So, we brought you something!" Matt finished, and the boys held out some bottles of blue milk and several blumfruit muffins.

Ahsoka nodded her thanks as Chufa handed her some of the food. "Well, actually, Hayley and Natalie weren't to blame, this time," the Togruta grinned, poking her tongue out at the two girls. Hayley smiled, but Natalie pulled a ridiculous face back at her. "I was just a bit busy embarrassing myself in front of the Chosen One,"

Unconcerned, Arici shrugged. "Who really cares? Padawan Skywalker is known for being grumpy and impatient. Just because someone is a good pilot and fighter doesn't automatically make them a nice person. Practically the only reason the Council kept him here is because they think he's the Chosen One," he pointed out.

Ahsoka sighed. "I know, but imagine what he could teach us!"

Chufa laughed. "I pity whoever has to learn from him. Apparently he's doing the Trials to become a Knight soon. It would be terrible to be his Padawan. When I get to Padawanship, I want a _nice_ Master,"

The Togruta frowned and nodded as she looked at a chronometer on the wall. "I guess. Anyway, we had better get to the hanger. We leave in fifteen minutes!"

* * *

"Right, Clawmouse Clan. For your training exercise today, you will be working in the forest and the swamp," Master Fisto grinned. The group of Initiates had travelled back to Naboo to complete their training mission. However, Master Fisto was taking them this time as Master Plo was busy with some Council work. "Today, you are going to do a rescue mission,"

The younglings all frowned in confusion. Then, Matt put his hand up. "Master Fisto, aren't rescue missions quite easy to do? Get in and get out quickly?"

The Nautolan Master chuckled. "Don't be so certain about that. Jedi often need to go and rescue others. It's important that you understand how to do it properly," Clawmouse Clan nodded as Kit continued. "You will start on the other side of the swamp. You must cross the swamp and enter the forest. In the forest is a building where the prisoners are held. The co-ordinates for the building have been downloaded onto your holopads. Together, you must find and free the prisoners. You have four hours,"

The Initiates all looked at each other. Natalie frowned. "It wouldn't take us _four_ hours, would it?" she whispered to Ahsoka. The Torgruta shrugged as Kit gave them all some final words of advice.

"Remember, not everything will be as it seems."

* * *

**Thanks for reading! :)**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: I'm sorry! School is actually taking over! Seriously, you've seen one assignment, you've seen them all... . Anyway, here's chapter 14! Also, BIG thanks to those people who took time to review :) !**

**I don't own The Clone Wars.**

* * *

"How do we cross this thing?" Natalie frowned, looking at the swamp. Clawmouse Clan had begun their mission. And it was going to be a lot harder than they had first thought.

"Yeah, this could be a problem," Matt agreed, looking at the expanse of bog which stretched for about fifty meters. The only vegetation in it was a few muddy reeds.

Chufa threw a rock into the swamp and watched as it splashed before sinking. He wrinkled his nose in disgust. "There's no way we can place boards on top of this and walk across,"

Arici broke a branch off a nearby tree and stuck it into the bog. "There's only a small layer of water on the surface. Below that, it's just thick soup. We can't swim through this. We'd be sucked under." He groaned, as he pulled the stick out and threw it into the swamp.

Ahsoka looked around. She knew that there had to be some way to cross the swamp. Going around it was out of the question as it would take too long. The Togruta's eyes rested on the tree Arici had pulled the branch off. It was massive, stretching about thirty meters into the air. Ahsoka smiled as she looked across the swamp, before turning back to look at the top of the tree. She was pretty sure she knew how to get across it.

"What resources do we have?" the Togruta asked the group. They had each been given a tool to help them with the mission. Ahsoka had, ironically, been given the medical pack.

"I've got a pick axe," Arici said, holding it up.

"I've got binoculars," Chufa replied as he rummaged through his bag.

"I have some food capsules and water in a canteen," Matt said.

"I've got an ascension cable," Hayley stated thoughtfully.

Natalie drew breath to explain what her tool was, but Ahsoka interrupted her. "That's perfect, Haze!" the Togruta exclaimed. The rest of the Clan looked at her as if she was crazy.

"Perfect for what?" Chufa asked.

Ahsoka pointed at the top of the large tree. "We can climb up there and fire the cable across the swamp. It will need to be attached somewhere near the ground to create a slope. I think the base of a tree will do. Then, all we need to do is grab a strong stick, put it over the cable and slide down to the other side!" she explained. The Initiates frowned as they thought it over.

"I think it would work," Hayley stated after a moment's thought. She smiled and nodded encouragingly at Ahsoka as she held the cable out to her. The Togruta nodded back, before climbing up the tree. The Initiates all watched intently as Ahsoka fired the cable over the swamp, and tugged it to make sure it held.

"C'mon up, guys!" She yelled, before snapping a sturdy branch off the tree. Taking a deep breath, Ahsoka broke the branch in half. She then placed both parts of the branch on the cable. Hopefully the two pieces would hold long enough for her to make it to the other side. Looking down, Ahsoka shuddered at the sight of the bog. Whatever happened, she did not want to fall in there.

"You can do it, Ahsoka!" Natalie cheered as she climbed up behind her friend. Ahsoka turned back to look at her.

I hope so, Natz," she sighed, before jumping out of the tree. Chufa, Arici, Matt, Hayley and Natalie all held their breath as their team mate flew across the muddy water….

… and arrived safely on the other side.

"It's fine, guys! Come across!" Ahsoka called as she took her holopad out of her pack. Once everyone had made it to the other side, she looked up the co-ordinates of the prisoners' location.

"How far is it?" Hayley asked as she threw her sticks away.

Ahsoka handed her the holopad. "We have about two klicks to go. It's pretty much straight ahead of us, in a clearing in the forest,"

Hayley nodded. "I think it's time for us to decide on a strategy,"

"What about splitting into two groups? One team can be on distraction, while the others sneak into the building and rescue the prisoners?" Arici asked.

"That sounds like a good idea. But, how many prisoners are there? Who exactly are we rescuing?" Natalie queried, looking at Hayley. The older girl looked at the holopad.

"Inside the building are different coloured training droids. We want to rescue the ones with green paint and destroy the red ones. There are about forty red and five green," Hayley replied. Natalie nodded.

"Arici's plan will work, then? A team can draw their fire, while the others carry out the rescue?" The Pantoran asked.

Hayley smiled. "Yes. We just need to decide on the groups, now,"

Matt stepped in. "I think Hayley and Ahsoka need to be on different teams. They're our best leaders," he stated. Ahsoka frowned, while everyone else nodded. This meant that she would probably be leading her team. The Togruta shuddered. Her last mission hadn't gone quite as well, and she didn't want a repeat of what had happened. It was alright when the whole Clan was together; especially since she knew that Hayley had her back. But this time, there would be no-one to guide her. She would be the one guiding her team.

"What about Natalie, Matt and Ahsoka as one team?" Hayley asked. Chufa and Arici worked well together, and she figured that Ahsoka may want the support of Natalie, who was her closest friend in the Clan. "Do you want to be on distraction or rescue?"

Inwardly, Ahsoka groaned. She didn't want to be mean to her friends, but Natalie and Matt were probably the least experienced at this sort of exercise. But, she couldn't bring the matter up without them hearing.

Matt grinned recklessly. "Distraction, definitely!" He replied. "We'll come in from the north if you come in from the south side?"

Hayley nodded. "It should take us about forty five minutes to get there. Remember, there might be hidden obstacles. Go slowly to avoid them," She paused, noticing how quiet Ahsoka had become. "Are you ok there, 'Soka?"

"Uh… I'm fine Haze," the Togruta replied softly.

Hayley nodded. She had a fair idea of what was going through Ahsoka's mind right now. "The forest was cleared by a team of Masters. They even installed cameras, so Master Fisto can see what's happening at all times. You will be fine. We won't have a repeat of our last mission. Remember, I've got my comlink if you need me," she said gently as she stepped closer. "You _can _do this. Who just got us across the swamp?"

Ahsoka looked up sheepishly. "I did. Thanks Haze. May the Force be with you,"

Hayley gave her a quick hug before walking over her team. "May the Force be with you as well, 'Soka."

* * *

"Careful, guys," Ahsoka whispered as they jogged quietly through the forest. Matt and Natalie nodded.

"Wait, stop," Natalie hissed suddenly. Ahsoka turned to look at her friend. The Pantoran flicked her eyes to the left and silently mouthed 'training droid'. The Togruta froze. Her team was now looking to her for guidance. Taking a deep breath and remembering Hayley's words, Ahsoka nodded and climbed up a nearby tree. Matt and Natalie watched as she swung from branch to branch, until she was right above the droid.

Their leader paused briefly to activate her lightsaber, before somersaulting down and slicing neatly through the droid. The blaster fell from its hands, and Ahsoka caught a glimpse of the power settings. It was set on low. Ahsoka grinned. Hayley was right. The only thing she needed to worry about was rescuing the prisoner droids. The rest of this exercise was safe. Excited, Ahsoka then turned around to grin at her friends. "That's how we do this!" she exclaimed as she ran back to their position.

Natalie laughed softly at her friend's enthusiasm, before the team began to run again. They continued quietly, keeping an eye out for traps. The last thing they wanted was the droids being alerted that they were coming.

* * *

Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, Hayley's team was making steady progress towards the location of the prisoners.

"How far off are we?" Arici asked as he ducked to avoid a branch. Hayley looked at her holopad.

"We have about half a klick to go. This is the most dangerous part. The building will be guarded, so we've got to move quietly. If we reveal ourselves, the whole thing is ruined," she whispered as she examined the map. Her team's position was shown by a blue dot and the location of Ahsoka's team was marked by a yellow dot. Right now, the two dots were pretty much parallel. Hayley nodded in satisfaction. They would arrive at the building around the same time. She tucked the holopad back into her pack and the team continued onwards.

"Get down!" Chufa muttered suddenly. Hayley rolled behind a hollow log as Arici and Chufa dived behind a cluster of trees. Hayley looked over at the two boys, shrugging her shoulders and mouthing 'What's happening? Where is it?'

Chufa mouthed 'droids' and held up two fingers, before pointing above the log Hayley was hiding behind. The girl froze. She couldn't risk taking them out right now. Other droids might be nearby and see her. Hayley held her breath, hoping that they wouldn't look behind the log. After what seemed like forever, the droids walked away. Hayley sighed and relaxed, before crawling inside the log. She then waved at the two boys to come over.

A confused Chufa and Arici tiptoed over to her position, and slid into the log.

"We need to be careful. There are traps everywhere," Hayley said, pointing out one end of the log. Between two trees, a wire was just visible. "Look at that tripwire. If we touch that, it will trigger an alarm,"

Arici groaned. "This isn't going to be easy,"

Hayley smiled. "It's ok. We'll just have to go really slowly," she said as she peered out of the log. "I can see the clearing. We should climb up a tree and get to the clearing that way. Then, we can watch Ahsoka's attack and figure out the best entry point,"

Chufa pulled his binoculars out. "I can see several droids around the clearing. The tree tops are definitely our best bet,"

* * *

Natalie, Matt and Ahsoka crawled through the forest. They had been lucky, so far. They had spotted every trap in their way and managed to avoid it. Ahsoka's confidence in what she was doing increased with every meter they safely travelled.

However, they had just entered what Matt liked to call the 'danger zone'. The clearing was only a hundred meters away, and there would be a lot of droids close by.

Natalie had been the one to suggest that they crawl through the undergrowth. It was a great idea, as they were hidden from sight most of the time and could see any traps in the way. However, the Initiates had gotten covered in twigs, leaves and mud. Ahsoka also had several scratches on her arm after a close encounter with a prickle bush.

"My arms are sore! How much further do we need to go?" Natalie asked. Ahsoka, who was busy crawling out of a mud puddle paused and spat out some dirt before answering.

"We're on the edge of the clearing. I'll just crawl under that bush up ahead and have a look at the building," the Togruta replied softly as she moved forward. She slid under the low branches and groaned in disgust. Underneath the bush was another mud puddle, and she had slipped into it head first.

Flicking the worst of the mud off her face, Ahsoka looked up and gasped. This was not good. This wasn't good at all. Hoping she was mistaken, Ahsoka quickly called Hayley.

"Haze, its Ahsoka here. Where are you?"

"We're on the south side of the clearing. However, we do have one problem. We're at the right co-ordinates, but…" Hayley trailed off uncertainly.

Ahsoka frowned as she finished her friend's sentence. "…the building's not here."

* * *

**Thanks for reading! :) Also, I've had a question asked about Anakin's friend in the last chapter. I don't actually know who he could be; many stories show Anakin as being a bit of an outsider due to the fact that he is meant to be the Chosen One. If you know of any friends Anakin had that suit the description, I guess that can be him. The name of Anakin's friend was purposly left out. **

**Hopefully the next chapter will be up soon! :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey guys! I'm back! Sorry, sorry, sorry for the very late update! School has been crazy, but I have holidays coming up soon, so hopefully updates will be a bit faster. HUGE thanks to everyone who reviewed this story. For the previous chapter, thank you to: Weathergirl17248, Count Mallet, Me, Dreamsareinfinity6, Mystery99, GhostDog401, iSparks, illustriousgiraffe and guest.**

**I don't own The Clone Wars.**

* * *

"What are going to do?" Hayley asked.

Ahsoka frowned as she wiped some mud off her comlink. "It will be here, Hayley. We just need to look a little harder,"

"We can't attack it if it's not here," Hayley stated logically.

"Wait! Remember, Master Fisto said that not everything will be as it appears. Where are you exactly?" The Togruta asked as she looked around.

"I'm in a tree directly opposite you. Can you see me?"

"Um… yep, I can. Wait! Haze, you've got it!" Ahsoka cried into the comlink.

In the tree, Hayley blinked. "Got what?"

"In the tree! That's where the building will be!"

"There's only Arici and Chufa up here with me, Ahsoka," Hayley replied.

"No, not in the branches, but inside the actual tree trunk! I can see a handle and everything! There's another one over here, too. It must lead down to the building. The prisoners are underground,"

"What are we going to do, then?" the Human girl asked.

"See if you can use Arici's pick axe to make a small tunnel or hole leading towards one of the walls. My team will create a diversion. Once we are under attack, you break through the wall, seal the two entrances and rescue the droids. Then, escape through your tunnel. Call me once you've escaped, then we will disengage and meet you on the way back to the shuttle," Ahsoka instructed.

"Sounds like a plan. I'll signal to you once the tunnel's done."

* * *

Ahsoka wriggled around under the bush and crawled back to the rest of the diversion team.

"We've got a bit of a problem," she reported.

"You're covered in mud?" Matt asked. Ahsoka rolled her eyes at the Rodian.

"No. The building isn't in the clearing,"

Natalie looked up. "What?!"

Ahsoka grinned at her friend's worried expression. "It's under it,"

"How...w-wwhat? How do you a-aattack that?" Matt stammered out.

The Togruta chuckled. "Relax, Matt. It's all taken care of. Hayley and I have formed a plan. Hayley's team is still going to rescue the droids while we provide the distraction. Now, Arici is going to dig a small tunnel to the back wall. Hayley has the outline of the building on her holopad, so they know what they're doing. Once that's finished, we will jump up and down, slice the ground and really make some noise. That will draw the droids out, while Hayley's team slips in undetected through their tunnel. Once they've got the prisoners, they will escape through the tunnel. Then, Hayley will call me and we disengage from the red droids if there's any left. I hope there won't be. After that, we will all meet up and run back to the shuttle," Ahsoka finished, gasping for breath after saying so much.

Natalie and Matt nodded as they thought through the new plan. Then, the younglings turned around to watch Hayley's team dig down to the building's back wall. Ahsoka was amazed at how quickly they managed to make the tunnel. The ground was quite damp, and the small hole was soon finished. Arici covered it with sticks and leaves, and then the rescue team ran and hid in the trees.

From her hiding place, Hayley waved at Ahsoka, who waved back. That was the signal for them to begin their attack.

"Ok. You ready?" she asked her team. Natalie and Matt nodded. Ahsoka took a deep breath, before running and leaping over the small bush. She rolled to minimise the force of her landing, before jumping up and down on top of the base.

Matt and Natalie followed her example, each crashing down on the underground building as hard as they could.

"It's working!" Ahsoka grinned as the droids in the forest turned around and began shooting at the three of them. Soon, training droids began to march out of the tree trunks as well. "Form a circle! Provide cover for each other!" She cried as she began to deflect blaster bolts with her favoured Shein grip.

Out of the corner of her eye, the Togruta spotted Hayley's team dive into the hole and cut through the back wall. Smiling, Ahsoka turned back to the battle. They were surrounded by droids, but at least everything was going to plan, for the time being.

"There's too many of them!" Matt cried as he stumbled.

"It's ok, Matt. Just hold on until Hayley's team escapes with the prisoners," Ahsoka replied as the Rodian managed to regain his balance.

"I'll do my best."

The three Initiates continued to fight. Ducking and diving, they somehow managed to keep each other protected from the blaster fire. But they weren't going to last much longer. Ahsoka could sense that her teammates were getting tired. And the wearier you were, the more mistakes you made.

"Hayley, where are you? We could use a bit of help," Ahsoka called into her comlink as she sliced another droid down.

"We have the five prisoners. Chufa's coming to give you a hand. Arici and I are getting the prisoners out of the base now. Get ready to disengage,"

Ahsoka turned around in time to see Chufa's blue lightsaber blade swinging through the air. There were only about fifteen droids left, and a rear attack would decrease their numbers significantly.

"We are out! Disengage, people, disengage!" Hayley called.

Ahsoka groaned. "It's a little hard right now," she replied as she deflected another bolt into a droid. There were still ten droids left. "We have to take these guys out now!"

"Ahsoka, we can't. We have the prisoners, but defending them will be a big problem. We need to get out now. We are also running out of time,"

The Togruta frowned as she spun around, and took another droid down.

"It's all good, Ahsoka. I've got this!" Natalie grinned as she pulled a small device out of her bag. "Fall back to Hayley's position and I'll cover you."

Ahsoka back flipped over a bush and ran over to the prisoners. The rest of the team soon joined her. The Togruta turned around in time to see Natalie release some sort of electric bomb. It seemed to affect the droids' sensors, leaving them disorientated.

The Pantoran then used the Force to roll a nearby log towards the droids. The rest of the Clan saw what she was doing, and joined in. It was a heavy log, but between them, the Initiates managed to roll it and crush the remainder of the droids.

After admiring her handiwork, Natalie ran over to the rest of the Clan. "Like Ahsoka said before, that's how we do this!" she grinned. Ahsoka laughed back.

"Where did you get that stun bomb thing from, anyway?" the Togruta asked.

"It was my tool! I never had a chance to explain what my object was. But, I read the instructions anyway. It releases a low yield electromagnetic pulse, which will temporarily disorientate the droids, but isn't strong enough to actually take them out. It also only works on a few droids, so that's why I didn't use it until now. Besides, I only had one and I didn't have the chance to use it while we were fighting,"

"Good job, Natz." Ahsoka smiled at the Pantoran. "Now, we had better get going. We need to lug these prisoners back to the shuttle and we only have fifteen minutes to do it in," she stated, looking at her chronometer.

"I bags being the one who doesn't have to carry a droid!" Natalie cried, before taking off in the direction of the shuttle.

Chufa and Arici both rolled their eyes, while Ahsoka and Hayley cracked up at the excited expression on Natalie's face. Then, the rest of the group each picked up a droid and lugged it to the shuttle.

* * *

"Well, Clawmouse Clan. That was the most um… interesting method I've ever seen used for this exercise," Master Fisto said to the group of Initiates. Everyone had made it back to the shuttle, with five minutes to spare. They were now travelling back to the Jedi Temple.

"Interesting?" Matt asked. The Nautolan Master laughed.

"The distraction and rescue approach was a good idea. Quite a few Clans chose to use that technique. However, none of them did it in quite the way you did,"

Hayley blinked in confusion. "What do you mean, Master Fisto?"

"None of them were jumping around on top of the roof, digging a tunnel and cutting through the back wall. Not to mention rolling a log over the droids. Your techniques worked well, but most of those training droids are beyond repair!" Kit chuckled. "However, I did like the way you crossed the swamp. That was very creative, Initiate Ahsoka,"

Ahsoka grinned. "I couldn't see any other way around it that would get us to the other side in time, Master,"

"Yes. The other Clans would all use the Force together to lift a member over the swamp. However, as you can imagine, that took quite a long while. Many of those Clans went over time,"

"Well, we were cutting it pretty close there," Chufa stated.

"It's meant to be quite close. The fastest Clan to finish this course ever took three hours and forty seven minutes. So you weren't far behind. Congratulations on passing! When we get back, you will start learning to pilot your own ships."

Natalie gasped. "We're learning to pilot? To _fly_?" she asked Ahsoka.

The Togruta grinned. "This will be interesting, won't it?"

* * *

**A/N: That was great fun to write, but I'm sort of glad this training exercise is finished. It didn't really push anything in this story forward, plot-wise. However, I do have a bit of a plan for the next chapters, which might have a more interesting plot.**

**Thanks for reading :)**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey people! Here's the next chapter! This one might not be as interesting as some of the other ones-I've only just gotten back into the swing of writing this story again. Hopefully it makes sense! Thanks to everyone who reviewed: heart dreamsareinfinity, Count Mallet, weathergirl17248, iSparks, me (guest), Noil23sj, Mystrery99 and Pumpkin-love33. **

* * *

"So let me get this right. The navigation display is located next to the primary flight display, which is usually in the centre of the cockpit. Correct?" Natalie asked as she desperately tried to remember the positions of the instruments in the cockpit of a Jedi Fighter. The Clan had just finished their first theory class on flight and aircraft. Now, Hayley, Ahsoka and Natalie were going over what Master Fisto had taught the Clan that afternoon.

"Yeah, that's right," Ahsoka replied as she rolled over on her bunk, examining a holopad. The Torgruta smiled. "Let's turn this into a competition! We all ask each other questions about what we learnt today. If you get the question right, you get a point. If you get it wrong, you lose one,"

Hayley smiled. "I'm in,"

"I'll play too! Bags asking the first question!" Natalie grinned. Ahsoka threw her the holopad. "Ok, what is a proximity sensor, and what does it do, Ahsoka?"

"What? We didn't even learn about those things today!" the Togruta protested.

"I know! But I asked, so you have to answer!" Natalie smirked. Ahsoka rolled her eyes.

"Fine. Is it some sort of uh… sensor that… senses things?" Ahsoka asked lamely. Hayley gave her a '_Well, duh'_ look and Natalie started to laugh.

"I think that's a negative point-" The Pantoran began.

"No, wait. Proximity… that's how close something is to something else. Is it a sensor which senses how close your aircraft is to other objects?"

Natalie's face fell. "Argh! Far out! Yeah, you are right, 'Soka. That's a point to you, and now it's your turn to ask,"

The Togruta grinned evilly. "Revenge time! Natalie, what does the variometer do?"

Natalie's face scrunched up as she tried to think "Um… uh… well. Who really cares?" The Pantoran groaned, trying to cover up her lack of knowledge with a nonchalant attitude.

"Give up?" Hayley asked.

"Not yet. But, I would just like to point out that revenge is a terrible, tragic crime to commit! What sort of Jedi does that make you, Ahsoka?" Natalie stated dramatically. "You know I struggled with that one in class!"

"Ha. At least I don't cheat!" Ahsoka shot back, laughing. "You asked me something I didn't even know!"

"That wasn't cheating! That was using creativity and outside-the-box thinking to give me the upper hand!" the Pantoran grinned.

"Also known as cheating." Ahsoka replied as she threw her pillow at her friend. Natalie dodged the cushion, but ended up falling off the bed, much to the amusement of the other two girls.

"Come on, Natz, you can do better than this." Ahsoka laughed as Natalie climbed back onto the bed. "You have to do better than this! What are you going to do when the time comes to actually fly if you don't know what the instruments do?"

Natalie sighed.

"Fine, let me think…"

* * *

_-A Month Later-_

"Right, I am officially scared. Anyone else feel like they are about to be sick?" Ahsoka asked as Clawmouse Clan made their way to hanger forty one. Today was the first practical flying lesson for everyone the group- except Arici, who had already done a little bit of basic training.

"Yeah, I'm pretty nervous," Chufa replied. "I've got a mental image of crashing and taking out half of Coruscant!"

"Dude, you wouldn't be that bad. Not even you could take out half the entire planet. I think a third would be more accurate," Arici smirked at his friend.

Chufa rolled his eyes. "Thanks for that, _pal_,"

"Not a problem,_ buddy_!" Arici chirped.

"Zip it, you two," Hayley groaned. "I'm freaking out enough as it is!"

Ahsoka grimaced. If Hayley was scared, then this really was going to be hard. The Togruta had been studying hard over the past month in preparation of this day. She wished that she was good at this sort of thing, like Arici. The Human boy was a natural at mechanics and flying, and had been selected for a short training course of ten lessons in the basics of flying a year and a half ago.

"Hello there, Clawmouse Clan," a smooth voice interrupted Ahsoka's thoughts. They had made it to the hanger, and she hadn't even noticed!

"Good morning, Master…" the group trailed off uncertainly. Master Fisto usually took them for piloting lessons. But the Nautolan was nowhere to be seen. In his place was a tall, blue, male Rodian.

The Jedi chuckled. "I am Master Venenum, your new instructor. Unfortunately, Master Fisto has a mild virus, and once he has recovered, he will be required for a mission. So, I will be taking you for a couple of months. I hope we can all give Master Fisto a great surprise when he gets back,"

Clawmouse Clan nodded, and Ahsoka smiled. She liked this new Master. He seemed to be in complete control, which was good because she was really worried about this lesson.

"I understand that today is your first practical lesson. We will set up a small course for you to drive around with speeders. The purpose of this is to get you used to the idea of using controls and get a feel for the machinery," Master Venenum smiled. "We have three open cockpit airspeeders available for today, so we will rotate. However, we are not actually flying them, just skimming across the hanger floor. The controls are slightly different to those in a Jedi Fighter, but in my opinion, driving is easier to do than flying is, so that's why we are starting with speeders. Now, who wants to go first?"

"I do!" Arici grinned as he waved his hand in the air.

"Yep, I'm in," Chufa said, relived that they would be practicing with speeders, not actually flying an aircraft.

"Great! That's the spirit! Right, we need just one more," Master Venenum said, looking around the group.

No one else made eye contact. Ahsoka groaned softly. Someone had to do this, preferably not her. But, she knew that there was no way Matt or Natalie would step forward. They preferred to learn by watching. And Hayley looked petrified at the thought of simply driving around a hanger. The Togruta took a deep breath.

"I'll do it,"

* * *

"Better watch out, 'Soka! I'm a pro driver, so don't you go cramping my style by crashing into me!" Chufa teased as he jumped into his speeder.

Ahsoka rolled her eyes. "What style?" she grinned, as she hopped into her speeder and began to familiarise herself with the controls. It felt so weird to be holding the instruments, instead of reading about them. Chufa feigned a hurt look.

"Hey! I've got plenty of style!"

"I'll believe it when I see it," Ahsoka smiled, grateful for the bantering. It made her feel a little less nervous.

"Are you two quite finished? Because I'm about to show you what real style is! Take notes if you want to!" Arici laughed, pulling his speeder up beside Ahsoka's.

"Since you are so confident, Initiate Arici, why don't you go first?" Master Venenum said. The Rodian Master had just set up a course with cones. It was a square, with crossroads in the middle. The Master gestured at the course. "The idea is to drive around the square one way. Then, you will cut across the middle, change direction and drive around the other way. Think you're up to it?"

Arici nodded, before heading around the course. He drove quickly, but carefully and didn't knock any of the cones over. Once he had finished, everyone clapped.

"Good work, Initiate Arici. Ok, Initiate Ahsoka Tano, would you like to go next? Don't worry; I'll be sitting beside you. I didn't help Arici because he has already done this exercise," Master Venenum said.

Ahsoka swallowed. "Yes, Master,"

The Rodian grinned as he jumped into the speeder. "This sort of thing used to scare me as well when I was learning. But don't worry, because we are going to go really slowly. Now, this is an airspeeder, designed to either fly or hover over the ground. We won't be flying, but it will rise up a little when you turn it on. It's meant to do that. Ok, hit the start button!"

The Togruta obeyed, and the engines turned on, causing the speeder to rise a couple of centimetres above the hanger floor.

"Good. Now, the two joysticks in front of you control altitude and direction. The joystick on the right controls altitude, so you can ignore it for now. The left joystick moves either left or right, and controls direction. The lever down on your right side beside your seat controls speed and is called the thrust control. Move it forward to accelerate and back to its original position to stop. The further you move it forward, the faster you go. You can also move it backwards to reverse. So, for today, put your left hand on the direction joystick, and your right on the thrust control. Now, move forward,"

Ahsoka nodded as she slid the thrust control forward a little. The speeder began to move slowly. Once she had reached the beginning of the course, she brought it back to the 'neutral' position, and the speeder stopped.

"Go Ahsoka!" Natalie called across the hanger.

Ahsoka smiled as Master Venenum began to speak again. "Now, use your thrust control and direction joystick to navigate around the square."

Nervously, the youngling slid the thrust control forward again. Once she reached a corner, she pushed the joystick to the left, and the speeder turned perfectly. Gaining confidence, Ahsoka slid the thrust control forward a little more, and the speeder accelerated. She grinned with excitement- here she was controlling a machine that was four or five times bigger than she was!

Once Ahsoka had finished the course, the Initiate reversed back to where the speeder had been parked. "Check out that style, Chufa!" She said, sticking her tongue out.

"Ha! I can do way better than that!" The Human replied as Master Venenum jumped out of Ahsoka's speeder and into his.

"Whatever!"

* * *

"Clawmouse Clan, I am impressed. You did very well today-the first time controlling a vehicle like that is often quite nerve wracking. Tomorrow, we will start to learn how to control altitude, and maybe a couple of other advanced techniques. Does anyone have any questions?" Master Venenum asked at the end of the lesson.

"When do we get to fly Jedi Fighters?" Arici asked.

"Once you've mastered driving a speeder, we will travel to another, quieter planet. Coruscant is too crowded to learn how to fly at faster speeds. I think in a month's time, if you all work really hard."

* * *

**The airspeeder Clawmouse Clan is practicing in is based off the one Anakin uses in Attack of the Clones. I couldn't find much information about how it worked, so I used a bit of guesswork, and came up with a cross between a helicopter and a car! I hope that would fly! :) Also, all the technical terms/references in the first part (The terms that Ahsoka and Natalie test each other on) are about airplanes- I imagine that a Jedi Fighter would be a cross between a helicopter and an airplane. Hope everything makes sense. The next chapter shouldn't be quite so technical!**

**Thanks for reading :).**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: I'm back! Really sorry about the wait. I've been busy studying as I have a couple of exams coming up. Also, one of my teachers called me 'stupid' a couple of days ago after marking my practice test. That was really sweet and encouraging of them. NOT. So, I'm determined to prove them wrong.**

**Anyway, thanks to everyone who reviewed! (and well done to those who are still reading this story!) :)**

* * *

"Ok, what was your favourite part of today?" Ahsoka asked the rest of the Clan as they sat down for the evening meal in the mess hall. They had just finished their first driving and flying lesson, and most of the Clan was feeling quite pleased with what they had achieved.

"Watching Chufa attempt to drive!" Arici laughed. "He took out five cones and I'm sure Master Venenum nearly fell out of the speeder with fright when they narrowly missed crashing into the hanger wall!"

Chufa rolled his eyes. "I only took out four cones, actually! And Master Venenum was fine! He said I was doing well, and that I had great reflexes to turn away from the wall at that speed!"

Arici chuckled. "Nah, he was just being nice. I really like him- he's a good teacher. Maybe you should listen to him more. You might learn something,"

"Hey! The only reason you did so well is because you've done this before! And I did listen, but it just feels so weird to use controls. When you're under pressure like that, it's so hard to separate your left from your right!" Chufa said as he flicked his drink at Arici. Arici ducked to the side, and the liquid drenched Ahsoka.

"Hey!" The Togruta cried. "These clothes were clean just before!"

"Oops. Sorry about that," Chufa said.

"Chufa aims as well as he drives!" Arici grinned, and then began to laugh as an idea struck him. "Hey, get this: he just soaked 'Soka!"

Ahsoka groaned at the play on words. "Hilarious," she muttered, picking up her own drink and flicking it at the hysterical Human. Unlike Chufa, she didn't miss and Arici ended up covered in blue milk.

Hayley rolled her eyes. "Look at you three," she muttered as Arici spat out a mouthful of the liquid in Ahsoka's direction.

"Eew, gross!" the Togruta wrinkled her nose in disgust and closed her eyes as the drink hit her in the face.

"Boy germs!" Natalie shrieked, before taking a napkin and wiping the worst of the drink off Ahsoka. Once she could see again, the Togruta nodded her thanks.

"I'm looking forward to tomorrow's lesson. And, going to another planet later is going to be awesome!" Matt said. The rest of the Clan chorused their agreement.

Later, once everyone had finished eating, the Clan decided that they would all go test each other on the theory of flying and driving.

Everyone wanted to be prepared for the next day.

* * *

"Good morning, Clawmouse Clan. Is everyone ready? Today, we will be doing some proper flying around the hanger," Master Venenum greeted them the next morning. Ahsoka grinned. After yesterday's success at driving, the little Togruta was looking forward to expanding her piloting abilities.

"However," Master Venenum continued. "Before we start, I would like to go over what we learnt yesterday, and I will teach you a little bit of theory. Firstly though, does anyone have any questions?"

Natalie put up her hand. "How high will we be flying?" she asked, her voice sounding slightly strained. Ahsoka noticed that the Pantoran looked a little bit pale. The Togruta inwardly debated whether she should ask if her friend was alright, but knew that doing so would interrupt the lesson. No one else seemed to notice, anyway. It could even be a trick of the light. Instead, she made a mental note to keep an eye on her friend.

"As high as you want. If you want to inspect the roof of this hanger in your airspeeder, go ahead. If you just want to cruise around at head height, that's okay as well. My main aim is for everyone to experience using the altitude joystick to control the height," Master Venenum replied. "Any other questions?"

There were none, so the Clan sat down as the Rodian Master took out a holopad and began to teach.

"Now, yesterday, we learnt about the direction joystick and thrust control lever. The direction joystick can only be pushed left or right. The thrust control goes forward and back. The altitude joystick also only goes forward and back-it cannot move from side to side. When you fly, keep your left hand on the direction joystick, and your right hand on the altitude joystick. When you need to change speeds or reverse, take your right hand off the altitude joystick and put it on the thrust control. Is everyone with me?"

Everyone in the Clan nodded. Master Venenum then passed a holopad with a diagram around the group and explained a bit more about changing altitude. Once everyone had copied the diagram down, the Rodian Master asked the Clan to divide into groups of two. Each group would be working in one of the three speeders.

"Do you want to work together, Natz?" Ahsoka asked, turning to face her friend.

"Yep, sure. But you're flying first!" Natalie replied, grinning. Inwardly, Ahsoka sighed in relief. Natalie seemed to be fine.

"Sounds like a plan! C'mon, we gotta run. I really want to get that green speeder again." Ahsoka said, pointing at the speeder she had used yesterday.

The two girls headed off across the hanger. Ahsoka jumped into the piloting seat, while Natalie strapped herself in next to the Togruta.

Once she was comfortable, Ahsoka turned the speeder on and began to drive around the course that had been set up the day before. She was planning to drive at ground level for a little bit, before actually flying for the first time. The youngling was just beginning to accelerate when Chufa and Arici came around the corner in front of them. They were going quite fast, and were lined up perfectly for a head on collision.

"Look out!" Ahsoka yelled. Arici desperately tried to slow down, but Ahsoka knew that he wouldn't manage to stop in time. Instead, the Togruta closed her eyes and pulled the altitude joystick back, causing the front of the airspeeder to come up. The youngling sat back in her seat as the speeder flew over the top of the astonished boys.

"Say wha-?!" Chufa muttered, as he got a close-up view of speeder's underside.

"The paint job on this speeder matches the colour of my lightsaber, and I don't want you two messing it up by crashing into me!" Ahsoka called over her shoulder, grinning.

Arici turned his speeder around and raced to catch up with the girls. "I had everything under control!" he replied.

"Yeah, sure." Natalie laughed.

The boys turned away, so Ahsoka continued to cruise around two and a half meters above the hanger floor.

"Hey Natz, should we go inspect the ceiling? See if anyone's cleaned it recently?" she asked, jokingly.

Natalie nodded, and Ahsoka pulled the altitude joystick back again. The speeder responded by increasing height.

"Time to switch over, Clawmouse Clan!" Master Venenum called. Ahsoka gently guided the airspeeder back to the hanger floor and brought it to a halt. Then, she swapped seats with Natalie.

Once the two girls were securely belted in, Natalie started the speeder. Ahsoka turned to watch her friend, and noticed that the Pantoran was gripping the joysticks quite tightly. She had gone slightly pale again as well.

"Are you alright, Natz? You look sick," Ahsoka said, concerned.

"I'm fine," Natalie replied, turning the speeder in the direction of the driving course. "Just trying to concentrate. Flying is a little bit scary, but I'll be okay."

Ahsoka nodded, and turned around to watch Hayley drive a purple speeder up behind them. "Having fun there, Haze?" Ahsoka asked.

Hayley grinned. "Loving it! I was freaking out yesterday, but this is just the best!" She replied, turning the speeder around, and pulling back on the altitude joystick.

Ahsoka smiled and turned back to face the front as Natalie began to accelerate around the course. The Togruta was just thinking that her friend was doing a great job of driving when she noticed Chufa begin to fly across their path. He was flying quite low, low enough for them crash.

Beside her, Natalie had also seen Chufa. She tried to turn away, pulling hard on the direction joystick. The speeder responded, and Ahsoka sighed in relief as they narrowly missed crashing into the Human boy. However, the Pantoran had just turned the speeder to face the driving course.

Both girls looked up and stiffened as the speeder drove straight through the course, taking out several cones. Ahsoka and Natalie held on tightly as the speeder bumped over each cone, causing a series of jolts.

"Watch out! Coming through!" Ahsoka shouted they swerved around Hayley and Matt. "Stop the speeder Natz!" she cried.

Natalie was already reaching for the thrust control. Her hand wrapped around it, and she yanked the lever backwards. The engines whined, but the speeder came to a stop.

Ahsoka jumped out and grinned at Natalie. "That was crazy! Good job Natalie, you drove really well!"

The Pantoran stumbled out of the transport. "That was so scary. I thought I was going to be sick!"

Ahsoka helped her friend over to a bench. "But now you know that you can drive, even when things get scary like that. You handled that really well-none of it was your fault,"

Natalie smiled. "Thanks, 'Soka. Hey, actually, that's a real good point! I was really nervous this morning, but I know that I can do it now!"

Ahsoka gave her friend a hug. "You're braver than I am!" she laughed. "Do you want to practise together later? We could ask Master Venenum. There won't be so many people flying then,"

The Pantoran nodded. "That sounds like a great idea." She replied as Master Venenum approached them.

"Are you alright? You did a good job there, Natalie. A hanger-even one as large as this one- can be difficult to drive in. Mostly, people are pretty good at looking out for each other, but we do have little moments like that occasionally. That's why we will be going to Alderaan in two weeks' time to practice our flying,"

"Everyone in our Clan is looking forward to that trip, Master," Natalie replied. "Also, we were wondering if we could do some practicing with the speeders later on, maybe tonight? That way, there won't be so many people around and we can practice without worrying about crashing into others,"

Master Venenum nodded. "After meditation tonight, you can come down here for half an hour. I will be setting up the fighter stimulator for tomorrow's lesson, and preparing the Jedi fighters for the trip. That way there will be someone around to keep an eye on you,"

"Thank you, Master." Ahsoka and Natalie both replied, before looking at each other and grinning. Being able to fly was a skill all Jedi needed to possess. Both girls knew that they would be able to learn a lot from the upcoming trip.

* * *

_-2 weeks later-_

Clawmouse Clan walked into the hanger and over to where Master Venenum and another Jedi were loading the Fighters onto a larger Jedi Transport. The blue Rodian smiled as he saw the group of younglings.

"Good morning, Clawmouse Clan! I would like you to meet Zach Riley, who used to be my Padawan. He's a Knight now, and will be coming with us to Alderaan. Zach is a good pilot, which is why I've chosen him to assist me with your practice mission," Master Venenum explained.

"It's nice to meet you, Clawmouse Clan," Knight Riley said, bowing. He was a green skinned Rodian, and was slightly taller than Master Venenum. Ahsoka noticed that he had a rather confidant air about him. She grimaced. He had better not be like Anakin Skywalker.

"Now, there are only a couple of things left to load. Could you give me a hand, Clawmouse Clan?" Master Venenum asked. The younglings were looking forward to leaving and nodded. Master Venenum then began to assign everyone a job to do. "Initiate Ahsoka, could you help Knight Riley? He's inside the transport checking the star fighters,"

Ahsoka nodded. "Yes, Master." She replied, making her way up the ramp. Inside the ship, Knight Riley appeared to be painting one of the Jedi Fighters.

"Master Riley? Master Venenum sent me here to see if you needed a hand,"

The green Rodian looked up and smiled. "That would be great, thank you Initiate… Sorry, I don't know your name,"

"My name's Ahsoka," the Togruta replied.

"Nice to meet you, Ahsoka. Would you be able to tidy up those tools over there? After that, we should be ready to go," the Rodian said, gesturing towards a small pile of hydro spanners.

"Yes, Master." Ahsoka grinned. He wasn't at all like Padawan Skywalker. She was sure that this was going to be a great training mission, after all.

* * *

Once everything had been loaded, the younglings boarded the ship. Master Venenum and Knight Riley were doing the piloting, so the Clan had a cabin to themselves.

"Bags sitting by the window!" Natalie grinned, swinging her pack off and sitting down on the comfortable seat. Ahsoka smiled and went to go sit next to the Pantoran.

"Better make yourself comfortable, Natz. It takes nine hours to get to Alderaan,"

Natalie's eyes widened. "What? That's forever!" she moaned.

Ahsoka smirked. "It's not forever- I just told you that it's nine hours,"

The Pantoran rolled her eyes. "You knew what I meant. What can we do to pass the time?"

Chufa, who was sitting next to Arici across from the girls looked up and grinned. "We could play a game," he suggested.

"What sort of game?" Hayley asked, glancing up from the holopad she had been studying from.

"The one Master Secura taught us ages ago, when we were really little," Chufa smiled. "Remember, how we couldn't focus in PhysEd, so we played that game? It was when you had to pretend you were doing something, and everyone had to guess what it was,"

Ahsoka smiled at the memory. Aayla had told them that sometimes Jedi needed to be able to pretend to be someone else. Acting wasn't really taught at the Temple, but the Twi'Lek Master knew how important the skill could be. It wasn't only used for making holovids, it helped in everyday conversation. Ahsoka had really enjoyed the game. She couldn't help but think that acting would be a great skill to have if you wanted to infiltrate an enemy's defence. You could pretend to be a bounty hunter or something, and gain inside information without having to sneak past security.

"Sure, let's play that," she grinned. The other younglings nodded.

"Cool! I'll go first!" Chufa laughed as he unbuckled himself from his seat and began to run around the room with his arms outstretched. "Okay, what am I?" he asked, after completing one lap of the room.

"A bug?" Natalie asked.

"Nope, try again!" Chufa grinned as he ran around a spare seat. Unfortunately, he didn't realise that Hayley's bag was sticking out from under the chair and was right in his path. The youngling accidentally got one foot tangled in the pack's straps, and promptly fell over.

"I know! I know! You're clumsy!" Arici laughed. Chufa rolled his eyes.

"Haha. Real funny, Arici," he replied, trying to untangle himself. "But that's wrong,"

Ahsoka chuckled as she watched Chufa continue to struggle with the bag. "He's a bounty hunter! Trying to steal Hayley's back pack!"

Chufa stopped trying to escape the bag's clutches and stuck his tough out at the Togruta. "Wrong, 'Soka! I'm a Jedi Fighter! And since no-one guessed correctly, I get to go again!"

The rest of the Clan sighed. This was going to be a very long trip.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! The next update may take a couple of weeks because I'm quite busy at the moment, but I'll do my best.**

**Q&A: (Because I've been really lazy replying to reviewers questions...)**

**Count Mallet: Yep, that name was given to him deliberately! (Well done for spotting it!) Thanks for reviewing!**

**Also, thanks to iSparks, weathergirl17248 and heart dreamsareinfinty for their reviews. :)**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Wow, it's been ages since I've updated this story (The only reason I've been able to update my other story was that most of those chapters were prewritten, so I just had to do a quick edit before publishing). Fortunately, I've got a bit more spare time now, so I might be able to update faster. Hopefully. (No promises though!).**

**Anyway, thanks to everyone who reviewed! Noil23sj, Mystery 99, Count Mallet, weathergirl117248, Guest and iSparks.**

**Several people did comment that two days might be a bit too long for travelling time to Alderaan. Thanks for your input; I wasn't too sure how long it would take. The travel time has been changed from two days to nine hours. Hopefully that's a little more accurate! Thanks for pointing it out! :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Clone Wars….**

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"Okay, Clawmouse Clan! We've arrived. Could you please give Zach a hand unloading?" Master Venenum called from the cockpit as the ship gently touched down on Alderaan.

"Yes, Master!" The Clan chorused as they eagerly clambered out of their cabin. Hyperspace travel got boring after a while, and everyone was looking forward to getting out of the transport.

"Race you all down the ramp!" Arici yelled as he sprinted through the hallways of the ship.

Chufa grinned. "You're on!" he replied, racing to catch up with his friend.

Natalie groaned. "My legs are so stiff! How can those guys even think about running after being stuck in a cabin for nine hours?"

Ahsoka smirked as she pulled her pack on. "Sounds like you're getting old, Natz,"

"Haha. You're so funny. Remind me to laugh," Natalie replied sarcastically.

"Okay…wait for it… now….laugh!" Ahsoka replied, grinning as Natalie rolled her eyes.

"I was being sarcastic!" the Pantoran muttered.

"Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, Natz. It doesn't score you any points when you're arguing with someone," Ahsoka pointed out as the two girls made their way down the ramp. "Woah, check out where we're staying!" the Togruta grinned as she looked around.

Natalie followed her gaze. They were on some sort of remote grassland which was surrounded by mountains. "Wow! Awesome scenery! I can't believe that the Alderaanian people just let us come here!"

Master Venenum walked over to the girls and grinned. "We're very lucky to have this wide, open space to practise our flying skills in. This grassland isn't used by anyone- the nearest city is a hundred kilometres away so we won't disturb anybody. As long as we respect the place and don't leave any mess, the Alderaanians are happy for us to be here. Now, could you take that equipment over to Zach please?"

The girls both nodded, and went over to help the green skinned Rodian.

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The Jedi Transport had carried eight Jedi Star fighters, as well as refuelling and communication equipment. By the time everything had been unloaded, it was beginning to get dark. The Jedi were going to sleep in the transport as it would be warmer than camping in tents.

Before everyone settled in for the night, Master Venenum went over the plans for the next day. The Clan would be spilt into two groups. Ahsoka, Arici and Chufa would be in one group, with Hayley, Natalie and Matt in the other. Ahsoka's group would spend the morning working with Master Venenum in the Star Fighters. Hayley's group would be practising their lightsaber combat skills with Knight Riley. At midday, the groups would swap over. For the third day- the final day of their trip- everyone would be flying and practising some basic flight formations.

Once everyone understood the plan and all queries had been addressed, the Initiates and Knight Riley all went to sleep, while Master Venenum stayed on watch.

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_-The Next Morning-_

"Good morning, Initiates Ahsoka, Arici and Chufa," Master Venenum greeted the younglings the next morning. "I hope you're all ready to do some proper flying!" he said, walking the Initiates over to the Star Fighters.

Chufa and Arici both grinned enthusiastically. "Yeah!" they cheered.

Master Venenum smiled at their excitement. "What about you, Ahsoka?" he asked, turning to face the little Togruta.

Ahsoka nodded. "Yep, I'm ready. I think," she replied, watching the other half of the Clan work with Knight Riley on the other side of the Jedi Transport. She wished that either Hayley or Natalie had been put in her group. Chufa and Arici were her friends, but they would probably spend more time helping each other than talking to her. At the moment, the two boys were talking eagerly about speeder models and Star Fighter equipment.

Ahsoka sighed softly. For every other training mission, either Hayley or Natalie had been in her group. The Togruta had always felt comfortable with Hayley's leadership skills. The Human girl always seemed to be capable and have the situation under control. And even though she usually had to help Natalie when the Pantoran was in her group, Natz was always encouraging and supportive.

But now, without her two closest friends, Ahsoka realised that she was going to have to do this alone. The Togruta knew that as a Jedi Padawan and Knight in later years, she would be going on solo missions and working by herself. It looked like now would be a good time to start practicing independence. This morning, she would have to be her own leader and supporter.

"Right, Initiates. Before you get into the star fighters, I'm just going to give you a quick flying demonstration. It won't be too long, because you have all, hopefully, done the theory study as well as practicing with the flight stimulator back at the Temple," Master Venenum instructed, his voice interrupting Ahsoka's thoughts.

The Rodian climbed into the cockpit of a star fighter. "I'll stay in contact with you via comlink. Could you all please turn your comlinks on?"

Arici, Chufa and Ahsoka obeyed. Master Venenum then shut the top of the cockpit, and smoothly glided the fighter off the ground. The Initiates watched as he circled around them, changed direction and demonstrated acceleration and deceleration, as well as altitude changes.

"_As you can see, Initiates, for these basic movements, it is just like flying a speeder. The controls are very similar," _Master Venenum's voice filtered through their comlinks._ "Now, I'll do a couple of the more advanced training moves you have been studying,"_

The Initiates watched as the Jedi Master then guided the Fighter into a barrel roll, constantly explaining how he was controlling the Star Fighter. Upon coming out of the roll, Master Venenum pulled the Fighter into a tight wingover, changing the direction so that he headed back to the group of younglings.

Once he had landed, the Master then jumped out of the ship and grinned at the Initiates. "Okay. Now's it's your turn!"

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Ahsoka grimaced as the cockpit cover slid shut over her. She wasn't claustrophobic, but the feeling of being boxed in and alone in a star fighter was slightly unnerving, to say the least. Not to mention the added pressure of having everyone else watching her. Master Venenum decided that it would be safer to let everyone have their first turn independently, so that the risk of a mid-air crash was decreased until the younglings felt comfortable in the Star Fighters. Unfortunately, that meant that everyone else would be watching her. And of course, she _had_ to be picked to go first.

"This is Ahsoka. I'm ready to take off. I think," the edgy Togruta spoke into her radio.

"Very good, Ahsoka. You're all clear for take-off," Master Venenum replied calmly.

_Take-off_. So this was really happening. Gritting her teeth, Ahsoka pushed the thrust control forward. At the same time, she pulled the altitude lever beside her backwards determinedly. This was just another obstacle which, when defeated, would bring her closer to becoming a Jedi Padawan. As the nose of the Fighter rose up and the ship glided up off the ground, Ahsoka resolved to put the fear out of her mind. She had to be comfortable being her own leader and stay in the moment.

Once she had reached a suitable height, Ahsoka slid the altitude lever back into the neutral position. After quickly checking the scopes to make sure that everything was running smoothly, she began to practice her acceleration and declaration both on straight lines and in curved shapes by using the main joystick. In a Star Fighter, the main joystick moved forward and backward to control thrust. It also moved left and right to control direction.

To Ahsoka's surprise, velocity changes were actually a lot easier than she had expected-they were exactly the same as changing the velocity with the flight stimulator back at the Temple.

"Great work, Initiate Ahsoka," Master Venenum's voice filled cockpit through her radio. "Would you feel confidant doing a simple barrel roll next? It will be exactly like the simulator,"

Ahsoka sighed. That would be more difficult than simply changing velocity, which was all she felt confidant with at the moment. At this point, Hayley would usually chip in with some advice, or Natalie would encourage her. Ahsoka wished that they were with her now. Without them, it was so tempting to simply refuse to perform the manoeuvre and instead land the aircraft.

Then, Ahsoka realised that if she could only do something when her friends were present to help her, she couldn't truly do it at all. If she couldn't be independent, the she would never deserve to be a true Jedi.

_You're your own leader._

"Okay, Master. I'm on it," The little Togruta replied as she pulled back on the altitude lever, increasing the height so she wouldn't crash into the ground. Then, Ahsoka took a deep breath and slide the main joystick sharply to the right.

The aircraft rolled over smoothly. Ahsoka fought the urge to close her eyes as the Fighter flew upside down for a brief moment. Then, the craft finished the roll and everything was the right way up again.

Ahsoka let out a sigh of relief and grinned. She had just done a barrel roll _completely by_ _herself_. No one had helped her, and she hadn't needed encouragement either. Her confidence increasing, the Togruta guided the aircraft into a vertical loop. As she hit the top of the vertical turn, Ahsoka stopped the circular motion of the loop and flew upside down in the opposite direction to what she had started the loop in. The blood began to rush to her head, so the Initiate did a neat half barrel roll and the aircraft rolled so that it was the right way up. Ahsoka felt a fierce stab of satisfaction. This manoeuvre was called an Immelman. Immelman were harder to do than rolls or loops, but she had completed it successfully.

A burst of applause came through the radio.

"Nice work, Ahsoka," Master Venenum complemented. "Manoeuvres like that are great for changing direction quickly and getting other aircraft off your tail. Now, here's a hypothetical situation. You're being tailed and shot at. Your attacker's craft is faster than yours. You need to get them off your tail and retaliate, fast. You also need to explain what you're doing and why,"

Ahsoka frowned briefly as she considered the situation. A faster opponent would have greater kinetic energy, so would be able to follow any loops or rolls she did. Thinking fast, Ahsoka put her craft into a downward spin.

"I've chosen a spin because the other aircraft will follow me, but as long as the other craft is out of phase in the spin, they won't be able to shoot me," she explained. The Togruta let the ship spin as the ground approached. At the last possible moment, Ahsoka pulled out of the spin. "Hopefully the other aircraft would have crashed into the ground, but if they hadn't, then I'd use the kinetic energy the spin gave me to do a wingover and fire back at them," the Initiate explained as she calmly executed the wingover. "The only problem though, is that I have to be aware of hitting the ground when I'm doing it at such a low altitude,"

"Awesome work, Initiate Ahsoka. That was both well planned and well carried out. Could you please land now? It's time for Chufa to have a go," The Rodian Jedi Master instructed.

Ahsoka smiled happily. Flying the Star Fighter had been scary at points, but she had managed to do it all on her own. "Yes, Master." She replied, guiding the aircraft back to the group, and gently touching down.

"That was epic!" Chufa grinned as Ahsoka jumped out of the star fighter. "Of course, I can do way better!"

Ahsoka grinned. "Overconfidence is carelessness, Chufa. Don't get too ahead of yourself! There's no way you can top what I just did!" The Togruta bantered back light-heartedly.

"Is that a challenge?" Chufa inquired. Upon seeing Ahsoka nod, his grin widened further. "Then, it's on!"

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**Thanks for reading!**


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